US3245514A

US3245514A - Device and method for turning around cigarettes and like articles

Info

Publication number: US3245514A
Application number: US392220A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herrmann Johannes
Original assignee: Tabak & Ind Masch
Current assignee: Tabak & Ind Masch; VEB TABAK- und INDUSTRIEMASCHINEN DRESDEN
Priority date: 1964-02-07
Filing date: 1964-08-26
Publication date: 1966-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 1983-04-12

Description

April 12, 1966 J. HERRMANN DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TURNING AROUND CIGARETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Aug. 26, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet l A ril 12, 1966 .1. HERRMANN 3,245,514

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TURNING AROUND CIGARETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Aug. 26, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JZ/MA/Ms-S Haze/144mm April .12, 1966 .1. HERRMANN 3,245,514

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TURNING AROUND CIGARETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Aug. 26, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 1966 J. HERRMANN 3,245,514

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TURNING AROUND CIGARETTES AND LIKE ARTICLES Filed Aug. 26, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Tlcij- DEVICE AND METnor) FORTURNING AnoUND CEGARETTES AN!) LIKE ARTKCIJES Johannes Herrmann, Dresden, Germany, assrgnor tov Veb Tabakund Industriemaschinen Dresden, Dresden,

Germany Fiied Aug. 26, 1964, Ser. No. 392,226 11 Claims. (Cl. 198-33) The invention relates to a device and a method for turning around, or reversing the orientation of, rod-.

shaped articles, thereon.

- In the manufacturingprocess of filter-tipped cigarettes,

particularly cigarettes haying mouthpieces it is customary to provide a double-size cigarette with a doublealength mouthpiece portion, the latter being then severed midway in order to produce individual, regularsize mouthpiece cigarettes.

turned around subsequently so that the tips or mouthpieces face-in the same direction as those of the unturned other row. Hereupon all the cigarettes canbetransferred, lI1 Slllt&bl containers, to packaging machines or thelike.

Quite a few mechanical and pneumatic devices havebeen designed, marketed and even patented for this purpose. For example, the cigarettes are held by mechanical grippers, in flutes of endless belts orchains, or by pneumatic means, sometimes in cylindrical or conical members, wherein they are turned around during rotation of said members. Sometimes the orientation of the cigarettes is reversed in groups,

In other devices of this kind, the cigarettes to be reversed "are, placed on a rotating disc where they rest in a predetermined region, owing .to their Weight, while other cigarettes continue their path. Conveyor belts are also used in at leastone :known device in addition to the rotating disc structure.

There are other known machines and methods wherein groups of cigarettes are transported by a chain of buckets or cups, perpendicular to the feed path, for discharging said cigarettes at the end of the r-ow of cigarettes which do not need to be turned around.

- All these devices require a considerablenumberof complicated parts. Installation, maintenance, cleaning and repair are all tedious, time-consuming and costly. I An! other important drawback of hitherto known devices resides in the fact that, at one point or another of the operative path, a sudden changeof direction is needed. Modern, high-duty machines which are set up for high operational speeds are. considerably handicapped by this unavoidable drawback otf the known turn-around devices.

It has been known tor quite some time to use one or two bands for the turning around of rod-shaped articles. The articlesva-re made to move between two intersecting spirally-shaped band path sections. In some devices the spiral-shaped path is provided by the aid or outer guide means between which the band sections move. This expedient has also been applied in devices for turning around cigarettes; one of the devices has been designed with a spirally wound guide-channel Within which the cigarettes are moved, and simultaneously reversed as to their orientation, by a twisted 'ba-nd vvhich engages one side of the cigarettes While the other rolls along the channel walls. This arrangement had certain advantages over the previously mentioned'ones but the structural requirements were still relatively high. The bands had to beinserted and operated with a high degree of precision. At hic- The out cigarettes, are dis-. charged in two parallel rows; those in one row have to be Patented Z Apr. 12,1956

are turned around while said belt passes, in a figure-eight path, from one sprocket to another. The number 015 components is reduced in this device, but on. the other hand, the sprockets and the timing belt haverather intricate configurations and are, therefore, costly to make. It has'been noted that the speeds of the various-rotating members have to be carefully correlated to avoid dis turbances. The inner face of the belt is subg'ect toexcessive wear, and the. belt needs frequent replacement;

It is the object of the, present invention to provide a device and a method for turning around cigarettes-and like articles which eliminate the drawbacks of, and difliculties encountered with, previously known devices-andmethods.

It is another obg'ect of the invention topresent a device2 wherein simple, inexpensive parts are used so, that there; is only aminimum of installation, maintenance and repair.

. It .is yet another object of the invention to use the: combination of a continuously and trectilinearlynnoving; member and a stationary member for reversing the orientation of rod-shaped articles, like cigarettes, The move-.

ment performed by the articles is perpendicular to the.

directional axis of themoving member, on the one hand, and axial with. respect to aportionof the periphery, there-i of, on the other hand.

According to one of the important features of the present invention, the novel device and method for turning around rod-shaped articles comprises means guiding said: articles for movement between a moving and a stationary. member, the former performing a rectilinear motion. Qwing to the combined rolling and sliding movem'ent oi the articles, their orientation is being reversed by move: ments which are partly axial with respect to the periphery of the moving member and partly cross-axial'to the direc tion of its advance. In. a preferred. embodiment of the inventive device, an endless belt or band is guided over two pulleys or rollers provided at predetermined reversal points ofits path. A curved, stationary guide-member is: adjacent to a substantially straight portion of the belt so that the distance between them remains the same.

The belt has a circular cross section. The guide mem: ber ispreferablymade circular; however, it may be profiled, i.e., with a narrowinged-ge pointing toward the end,- lessv belt or band so as to present a possibly small irictioual surface bearing against the entrained articlesv (cigarettes). The endless belt whichco-operates in turning around the cigarettes may be one of several belts passing around a rotating transport drum at which the double-size cigarettes are being severed. According to'anotherfeature of theinvention, the drum is provided with circumferential grooves for said belt, the latter beingadaipted to remove the cigarettes from axially arranged flutes or recesses o the drum where they are held by conventionalv means: Depending on the position of theendless belt used for: turning around-the cigarettes, optionally in a peripheral or in a substantially central ire-gionof said transport: drum; the reversed cigarettes will be deposited, :for. example, on a conveyor belt-,adj acent the :nornreversedv row: of cigar-1 ettes,or in a fashion interleayed or intermediate therewithf.

tional points, the bands were subject to considerable wear so that the machines had to be stopped firequently for replacing worn guide bands.

At least one. recent device incorporates a single timing belt having fingers thereon for individual cigarettes which that where the belt returns .to'thedrumL i The endless belt whichperformsflthe; -re-or ienting,or: turning around of the, cisQl'ettes-is guided in a figure-eight path around a pulley, the latter having a tilted axis so: that the band sections movingtowardand away'from the, pulley cannot touch each other, The .station'ary'iguidemember has a portion running substantially. parallel with. a horizontalbelt section coining from the cigarette-entrain ing drum, and a three-dimensionally;bent terminalpora tion closeto' the tilted pulled .but at its side opposi-te to Other objects and advantages of the invention will be appreciated and more fully understood with reference to the following detailed description, when considered with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the output end of a preferred embodiment of the inventive device for turning around cigarettes and like articles;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 1, taken in the direction of arrow X;

FIG. 3 is a partial front view, on a larger scale, of the device illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, taken in the direction of the arrow Y;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the forward end of the guide curve co-oper-ating in the article reversal, in the position shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a modification of the reversing guide curve, similar to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front view, similar to that of FIG. 3, of a modified embodiment of the inventive device for turning around cigarettes and like articles; and

FIG. 7 is a top view of the re-oriented cigarettes partly pushed into .a single line with the non-rotated ones by the device shown in FIG. 6.

A preferred embodiment of the inventive device will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 4. Cigarettes 2 are being produced on conventional machines not illustrated herein. Each cigarette is double-size and has two standard lengths of a filter tip or mouthpiece at its center. These cigarettes are inserted, by means not shown, into substantially semi-circular transporting recesses of flutes 4 of a drum or carrier wheel 6. Axially aligned with drum 6 is a cutting or transport drum 16 having recesses or flutes 14 therein, the peripheral distances between

subsequent flutes

4 and 14 being substantially identical. peripheral speeds but in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows.

FIG. 2 shows the spatial relationship between the drums 6, 16 the peripheries of which are in tangential engagement at a single point. The figure clearly shows a cigarette 2 partly taking up one of the flutes 4 and at the same time one of the aligned flutes 14. Since the latter are slightly narrower than the former, each cigarette will be forced or somewhat wedged into a flute 14 at the contact point of the two drums, for subsequent entrainment by the rotating transport drum 16.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that flutes 14 of drum 16 may be provided with pneumatic suction means or mechanical gripping means (not shown) serving to hold the

cigarettes

2a, 2b during their passage around said drum. These details being immaterial with regard to the inventive concept, no further details will be given herein.

The edge of a rotating disc-shaped knife 8 is allowed to penetrate the drum 16 at a circumferential, central recess 10, beyond the depth of flutes 14, so as to sever each cigarette 2 into two regular-size halves, 2a and 2b. As will be clear from FIG. 1, the filter-tipped ends of the

cigarettes

2a, 2b face each other, substantially in the central region of drum 16.

The drum 16 has preferably four

circumferential belt grooves

20, 22, 24 and 26 therein, in which are placed endless belts or

bands

21, 23, and 27, respectively. It should be noted that the aforementioned grooves, e. g., 20, are deep enough to take up the thickness of the belts, e.g., 21, beyond the inner radius of each flute 14.

It will best be seen from FIG. 1 that each

belt

21, 23, 25 and 27 is long enough to pass, from the respective groove of drum 16, over additional elements located in the direction of cigarette processing. Thus, longer belt 21 is guided from groove 21) of drum 16 over a pulley 28, to be described later in detail, while

shorter belts

23, 25 and 27 are respectively guided, from their

grooves

22, 24 and 26, to

appropriate grooves

22, 24 and 26', respectively, of a common, elongated roller 32.

The drums 6 and 16 rotate at identical The

cigarettes

2a, 2b remain wedged into the flutes 14 as long as the

belts

21, 23, 25, 27 remain below the inner diameters of the flutes. FIG. 2 shows [how each cigarette is successively forced out of the respective transport flute when the direction of the moving belt changes from circumferential to tangential (in the lower region of drum 16).

The axis of roller 32 is so arranged that the sections of

belts

23, 25, 27 emerging tangentially from the grooves are substantially horizontal. This provides for the cig' airettes a path of uniform width in conjunction with a guide plate 34 arranged in the right-hand portion of the device (as viewed from the direction of arrow Y). The cigarettes 2b are released during their forward movement when they reach a slope 36 along which they roll down to a conveyor belt system schematically indicated at 12.

Although not illustrated in detail, the height of guide plate 34, or in other words its distance from the

belts

23, 25 or 27 running tangentially from the drum 16, can be adjusted by conventional means. This will serve to make up for slight changes in cigarette diameters processed, as will be explained somewhat later.

Belt 21, in co-operation with pulley 28 and other elements, performs the reversal or turning around of the cigarettes 2a in a manner to be described in more detail hereunder. Eventually all

cigarettes

2a and 2b alike reach the belt system 12 for further processing at subse-' quent machines (not shown). At the left-hand portion of the device, where the cigarettes 2a emerge from under drum 16, belt 21 runs horizontally to the upper edge of pulley 2'8 and returns to the top of drum 16 after having passed around said pulley. The latter thus rotates in a sense opposite to that of drum 16 and of roller 32, the belt 21 describing a figure-eight path around drum 16 and pulley 28.

The plate 34 carries on the left-hand side a guide curve 18 which is attached thereto substantilly below the run of the belt 21. The guide 18 is first parallel to the belt 21 and the direction in which the cigarettes 2a emerge from transport drum 16, and then has a spatially curved terminal portion, best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The curved portion of element 18 surrounds pulley 28 which, for purposes of reversing the orientation of cigarettes 211, has a tilted anis (see FIG. 3). A uniform distance prevails between guide 18 and belt 21, slightly smaller than the diameter of cigarettes 211, so that they are safely entrained in their forward movement from drum 16 toward conveyor 12.

The operation of the preferred device illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, or, in other words, the method of turning around cigarettes or like rod-shaped articles, is as follows: It has been mentioned before that the double-size cigarettes 2 are cut in half by disc-shaped knife 8 as they are entrained by the flutes 14 of drum 16. During clockwise rotation of the drum, as viewed in FIG. 2, the bisected or regular-size cigarettes 2b pass between the

belts

25, 27, on the one hand, and a portion of the guide plate 34, on the other. With their filter tips to the left-hand side (as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3), the cigarettes 2b roll down the slope 36 and reach the conveyor system 12.

At the same time, the oppositely oriented regular-size cigarettes 2a advance between the

belts

21, 23, on the one hand, and another portion of the guide plate 34, on the other, until the guide curve 18 and the belt 21 take: over. From the forward edge of roller 32, the guiding effect on belt 23 ceases so that the orientation of each forwardly moving cigarette 2a will be determined solely by the spatial relation between stationary curve 18 and advancing belt 21.

Both FIGS. 2 and 3 show a number of cigarettes 2a in their respective consecutive angular positions. The filter-tipped ends of the cigarettes clearly show how the co-operation of the afore-mentioned two elements successively turns each cigarette around, from right to left, by substantially degrees until the filter tips of cigarettes 2a, too, are to the left. Beyond the pulleyv 28, a pair of stationary support members 38 is provided on either side, along which each cigarette 2a is allowed to 'roll down onto the conveyor system 12, once released from between guide 18 and belt 21. FIGS. 2, 3, and 6 only schematically indicate a'support structure 40, prefer- .ably held by the stationary frame (not illustrated) of the device and serving to carry pulley 28, members 38, and conveyor system 12, as shown in the illustrations. In FIG. 1, some of the support structure has been omitted for'the sake of clarity.

Owing to the tilted axis of pulley 28, the horizontal section of belt 21 which moves toward the pulley does not touch the upward belt section whichreturns to the drum 16 (see FIG. 3). The guide curve 18 extends, with its bent terminal portion, on that side of the pulley which is opposite the upward belt section. This results in the cigarettes 2a being always guided along the outer portions of the moving belt 21 without being endangered of getting caught either between the pulley and the belt, or

between the two belt sections in the proximity of the pulley.

It will be seen from FIG. 1 that the described preferred embodiment of the inventive device individually and successively re-orients each cigarette 2a until it assumes a position on the conveyor 12 parallel to the non-rotated cigarettes 2b, all tips or mouthpieces pointing in one direction. Since the turning around is performed in a "direction transversal to the forward movement of the cigarettes, the two groups are spaced a distance'apart, .as shown in FIG. 1. In subsequent processing stages (not shown), each of the two continuous rows of identically oriented cigarettes may then be individually processed, packed or otherwise manipulated, as is known in the art.

It should be noted from FIG. 1, and more particularly from FIG. 3, that the respective locations of the belts 2.3 and correspond, with respect to half the width of the transport drum 16, to the places where the filter tips connect to the cigarettes proper. As the cigarettes .211, 2b roll through the device, the

belts

23 and 25 exert a uniform pressure against the relatively thin paper'surrounding the filter tips, whereby any possible flaws resulting from previous'processing steps (e.g., applying, glueing) are smoothed out. As the cigarettes pass through the inventive device, their round shape is safeguarded, or even improved, owing to the rolling action applied thereto, as explained hereinabove.

FIG. 4 illustrates the front end of the guide curve 18 as it would appear in FIG. 3 if detached from the rest of the structure. It will be seen that the cross-section of the guide is circular. FIG. 5 is a similar front elevation of a modified guide curve 18a having a flattened shape and an arcuate profile on the side of the guide facing the belt. It is adapted to co-operate with the inventive device exactly as has been described hereinabove.

FIG. 6 relates to a modified embodiment of the device according to the invention, the operation of which results in a layout of the re-oriented cigarettes on the conveyor belt as shown in FIG. 7. It will be noted that FIG. 6 corresponds, in overall arrangement, to that of FIG. 3. The identical parts have been given reference numerals corresponding to those of the previously described views, which consequently need not be explained again.

Drum 16 has the same four

grooves

20, 22, 24 and 26 as described before. However, groove 2% lodges a shorter belt 21' which runs over an elongated roller 30, similar to roller 32 described for the first embodiment. The

belts

25 and 27, having the same lengths as belt 21, and being lodged in

respective grooves

24 and 26, both run over a roller 32 which is similar to but longer than the aforementioned roller 30'.

The reversal of the cigarettes 2a is performed, in this alternative embodiment, by a longer belt 23' running in groove 22 and engaging, according to a figure eight pat- 6 tern, a pulley 28 which is similar to the previously described pulley 28 but is tilted in an opposite direction. A guide curve 18', similar to guide 18, surrounds the pulley 28' in a manner described, but from the other side. When the cigarettes 2a are advanced between the guide plate (not visible) and the curve 18', they will be turned around by about degrees, from left to right, as viewed in FIG. 6. For the sake of clarity, support members (similar to 38) have not been shown for the reversed cigarettes in this modified embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the reversed cigarettes 2a are being deposited in partly overlapping relationship with respect to the nonrotated. cigarettes 2b. Thisembodiment of the inventive device maybe followed by 'a device (not shown) which will unite the two partly overlapping cigarette rows into a single row, for further processing (e.g., packing) at subsequent machines.

It should be noted that the alternate guide-curve configuration described in the reference to FIG. 5 canalso be used in the second inventive device according to FIG. 6-.

A comparison of FIGS. 3 and '6 will readily reveal that the basic concept is the "same in both embodiments, only in one instance the outer portion of the cigarettes is being gripped for rotation by about 180 of the filtertipped cigarette end therearound, while in'the other instance the inner or filter-end portion is being engaged for rotation of the other cigarette end around it. In the former case the, distance between the two emerging cigarette rows increases, in comparison to the original location, while in the latter it decreases, producing a partly overlapping row of uniformly oriented cigarettes.

The length of the cigarettes has no bearing on the operation of the inventive device and the method of turning around the'cigarettes, as long as the'width of require adjustment so as to process cigarettes of slightly larger or smaller diameters, the distance between the belts and the guide plate 34 may, requirea slight adjustment. Also, the guide curve 18 (or 18) may need replacement by a thinneror thicker one, or may have to be properly adjusted "with respect to the co-operatin'g belt21 (23) and pulley 28 (28'). These expcdients being self-explanatory, no detailed illustration has been given of the means provided therefor.

The foregoing disclosure relates only to preferred embodiments of the invention, which is intended to include all changes and modifications of the examples described within the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device for turning around rod-shaped articles, like cigarettes, comprising, in combination, rotatable transport drum means, means associated With said drum means for entraining said articles during rotation of said drum means, means for rectilinearly guiding a portion of said articles away from said drum means, and means for turning around another portion of said articles, said last-named means including an endless first member having a rectilinearly moving portion and a stationary, partly curved second member in the region of said first member having a portion curved around said rectilinearly moving portion of said first member from one side to an opposite side thereof, said other portion of the articles being individually and successively turned around by substantially 180 degrees between said members in a direction perpendicular to that in which said first member moves.

2. A device for turning around rod-shaped articles, like cigarettes, comprising, in combination, rotatable transport drum means, means associated with said drum means for entraining said articles during rotation of said drum means, means for rectilinearly guiding a portion of said articles away from said drum means, and means for turning around another portion of said articles, said last-named means including an endless, rectilinearly moving first member and a stationary, partly curved second member in the region of said first member, said other portion of the articles being individually and successively turned around by substantially 180 degrees between said members in a direction perpendicular to that in which said first member moves, said entraining means including at least one endless belt passing around a portion of said drum means, said first member being in the form of an endless transport belt longer than said one belt, further comprising pulley means having an axis tilted with respect to that of said drum means for guiding said transport belt therearound in a figure-eight path.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said transport belt has a substantially circular cross-section.

4. A device according to claim 2, wherein said transport belt has a section moving from said drum means toward said pulley means and another section moving from said pulley means back to said drum means, said belt sections being spaced apart owing to the tilted axis of said pulley means, said second member being on the side of said pulley means opposite to that of said another belt section.

5. A device according to claim 2, further comprising guide means on said drum means for securing the path of said transport belt therearound.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein said guide means include a circumferential groove on said drum means, which constitutes an acute angle with respect to the axis of said pulley means.

7. A device for turning around rod-shaped articles, like cigarettes, comprising, in combination, rotatable transport drum means means associated with said drum means for entraining said articles during rotation of said drum means, means for rectilinearly guiding a portion of said articles away from said drum means, and means for turning around another portion of said articles, saidlast-named means including an endless, rectilinearly moving first member and a stationary, partly curved second member in the region of said first member, said other portion of the articles being individually and successively turned around by substantially 180 degrees between said members in a direction perpendicular to that in which said first member moves, said second member having a straight portion in the neighborhood of said drum means which is substantially parallel to an intermediate portion of said first member, and a curved portion more remote from said drum means than said straight portion which surrounds a terminal portion of said first member in a substantially equidistant alignment.

8. A device according to claim 7, wherein said curved portion of the second member makes half a turn around said terminal portion of the first member.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein said second member has a flattened shape and an arcuate profile on its side facing said first member.

10. A device for turning around rod-shaped articles, like cigarettes, comprising, in combination, rotatable transport drum means means associated with said drum means for entraining said articles during rotation of said drum means, means for rectilinearly guiding a portion of said articles away from said drum means, and means for turning around another portion of said articles, saidlast-named means including an endless, rectilinearly moving first member and a stationary, partly curved second member in the region of said first member, said other portion of the articles being individually and successively turned around by substantially degrees between said members in a direction perpendicular to that in which said first member moves, extraneous conveyor means for said articles and support means between said means for turning around said other portion of the articles and said extraneous conveyor means for said articles, said support means being tangential with respect to a terminal portion of said first member and sloping toward said conveyor means for depositing thereon said another portion of the articles.

11. A device according to claim 10, wherein said second member has a terminal portion extending substantially parallel to said support means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,965,215 12/1960 Molins 198-33.3 3,176,825 4/1965 Rudszinat 19833.3

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Examiner.

Claims

1. A DEVICE FOR TURNING AROUND ROD-SHAPED ARTICLES, LIKE CIGARETTES, COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, ROTATABLE TRANSPORT DRUM MEANS, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID DRUM MEANS FOR ENTRAINING SAID ARTICLES DURING ROTATION OF SAID DRUM MEANS, MEANS FOR RECTILINEARLY GUIDING A PORTION OF SAID ARTICLES AWAY FROM SAID DRUM MEANS, AND MEANS FOR TURNING AROUND ANOTHER PORTION OF SAID ARTICLES, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS INCLUDING AN ENDLESS FIRST MEMBER HAVING A RECTILINEARLY MOVING PORTION AND ASTATIONARY, PARTLY CURVED SECOND MEMBER IN THE REGION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER HAVING A PORTION CURVED AROUND SAID RECTILINEARLY MOVING PORTION OF SAID FIRST MEMBER FROM ONE SIDE TO AN OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF, SAID OTHER PORTION OF THE ARTICLES BEING INDIVIDUALLY AND SUCCESSIVELY TURNED AROUND BY SUBSTANTIALLY 180 DEGREES BETWEEN SAID MEMBERS IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO THAT IN WHICH SAID FIRST MEMBER MOVES.