US3650169A

US3650169A - Cigarette rod cutoff device

Info

Publication number: US3650169A
Application number: US874457A
Authority: US
Inventors: Goffredo Gianese
Original assignee: AMF Inc
Current assignee: AMF Inc
Priority date: 1968-11-12
Filing date: 1969-11-06
Publication date: 1972-03-21
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-21
Also published as: DE1956440A1; BR6914121D0

Abstract

A cradle-shaped support for a continuous cigarette rod that is to be cut is driven continuously in one direction along a generally circular closed path that is tangential to the rod and at a peripheral speed equal substantially to the speed of the rod to periodically support and guide the rod each time the rod is cut with a blade.

Description

United States Patent [45] Mar. 21, I972 Gianese CIGARETTE ROD CUTOFF DEVICE Inventor: Gofiredo Gianme, Bologna, Italy Assignee: AMF Incorporated Filed: Nov. 6, 1969 Appl. No.: 874,457

Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 12, 1968 Italy ..7468 A/68 (1.8. CI ..83/3l0 Int. Cl ..B26d 1/56 Field of Search ..83/310; 131/65 R L It 3,479,913 11/1969 Goeman et a1...

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Rodder ..83/3l0 X Primary Examiner-James M. Meister AnomeyGeorge W. Price and Eli Weiss ABSTRACT rod is cut with a blade.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUMAR21 I972 3,650,169

SHEET 1 0F 3 INVENTOR. GOFFREDO GIANESE ATTORNEY PAIENTEDMRM m2 SHEET 2 OF 3 I I INVENTOR. GOFFREDO GIANESE A zL/LV,

ATTORNEY P'AIENTEDMAR 2 1 I972 SHEET 3 OF 3 INVENTOR.

GOFFREDO GIANESE Liz/1;

ATTORNEY CIGARETTE ROD CUTOFF DEVICE This invention relates generally to a device for supporting and guiding a continuous cigarette rod through a cutoff, and particularly to cigarette makers with a high or very high cutting rate.

In the known cigarette cutoffs, the rod moves in a tubular guide provided with a transversal slit through which a blade of the cutoff can pass at equal intervals of time. The guide is provided with a reciprocating motion which is parallel to the direction of motion of the rod. During this motion the guide accomplishes a go travel in the forward direction of motion of the rod during which the cutting of the rod is effected through the transversal slit.

The guide has the function of supporting the rod which, because of its characteristics, cannot offer suitable resistance to the cutting action.

When moving in a forward direction, the guide accompanies the rod, that is, both the guide and the rod move at the same speed, In the return travel there is a relative motion between the rod and the guide.

Naturally, the forces of inertia which relate to this type reciprocating motion of the guide do not permit an increase in the frequency of operation of the guide beyond a certain maximum value. This effectively limits the cutting rate and consequently the productivity of an associated cigarette making machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved cutoff device for the cutting of a continuous cigarette rod.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved cutoff device which operates at a high rate of speed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device that is reliable in operation and economical to build.

These and further objects and advantages of the present invention are achieved, in general, by providing a cradle-shaped support that supports and guides a continuous cigarette rod that is to be cut. The cradle moves continuously in one direction along a generally circular closed path, at a peripheral speed which is substantially equal to the rod speed. The path of the cradle has a small rectilinear section which is parallel to the path of the rod in the area where the rod is subjected to the cutting operation where the blade of the cutoff can pass in synchronous relationship with the passage of the cradle and in the transversal slit of the cradle. Thus, the cradle periodically supports and guides the rod each time the blade cuts the rod without reversing the direction of motion of the cradle.

In this invention, the continuous unidirectional motion of the cradle along the closed circular path is achieved by coupling the cradle to oscillatearound a transversal shaft according to a preestablished oscillating motion, the shaft being driven to rotate around a shaft, at a speed of rotation predetermined in relation to the speed of the cigarette rod which must be cut in preestablished length sections. The support is guided to move radially towards and away from said shaft according to a preestablished arrangement The oscillating motion of the cradle support and the oscillating motion of the cradle around the shaft are correlated between each other and with the rotary motion of the support, in such a manner that the cradle support moves parallel to the rod path during the time the cradle is transversing the rectilinear section of its path, the longitudinal axis of the shaft of the cradle being parallel to the rod axis and moving in the same direction ofmotion ofthe rod.

According to a further preferred feature of the invention, there are provided multiple cradles oscillating on respective supports which slide in radial guides, angularly interspaced by a rotating element which is revolvingly assembled on a fixed shaft. Two fixed cams are mounted to said shaft. One of the cams causes the supports to slide in sequence in a radial direction while the other cam determines the preestablished motion of oscillation of the cradle to establish, successively for each cradle, the above mentioned functional cooperation with the cigarette rod cutoff.

These and other novel features of the invention and the resulting advantages are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following detailed description of an embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, when read with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, sectionized according to the axial vertical plane, of a-device for supporting and guiding the cigarette rod in accordance with the principles of this inventron;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the device, partly sectionized along the lines II, II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the device according to the invention, illustrating the operating relationship between the cam which determines the preestablished rotary motion of the eradles and the cam which operates the radial displacement of the cradle movable supports.

With reference to the drawings, numeral 1 (FIG. 2) indicates the continuous rod which is formed in an automatic cigarette maker and which must be cut at preset intervals in single sections corresponding to the desired length of the cigarettes.

This rod slides uniformly at high speed and is guided on a substantially horizontal path through any appropriate guiding means 2 which does not form a part of the present invention and therefore is indicated schematically in FIG. 2. Additionally, the rod cutoff does not form part of this invention and is indicated generically with numeral 3 in FIG. 1 for the purpose of and is showing the location of apparatus according to the invention when it is mounted in a cigarette maker.

The device for supporting and guiding the cigarette rod when it has to be cut, comprises a wheel or disk 4 which is rotatably mounted around and end part of a fixed shaft 5 fastened, at its other end, to a part 6 of fixed structure of the machine.

The disk 4 is integral with a bevel toothed wheel 7 which meshes with a pinion 8 keyed to the upper end of a fluted vertical drive shaft 9 which is rotatably driven, in any suitable manner, for actuating the disk, from a main drive of the machine (not illustrated). The shaft is provided with flutes which enable, during assembly, a perfect adjustment to the height of the disk 4.

Disk 4 is provided with a plurality of radial openings or slits 10, for example, 6 slits, which are equally positioned around the disk, A support element or block 11 is slidably mounted in each slit 10. A roller 12 is rotatably coupled to each support element 11 and follows the preestablished profile of a cam 13, rigidly mounted to pin shaft 5. A helical spring 14 acting in adjustable compression is mounted in radial slits l0 and presses the respective block radially inward so that when disk 4 rotates, the block moves radially forward and backward in the associated slit according to the reciprocating motion imposed by the profile of cam 13. Cam 13 has a substantially circular profile with the exception of a short straight section arranged parallel to the direction of motion of the rod 2, so that, in the area of the straight section, block 11 traces a path parallel to rod 1 which must be cut and in the same direction of motion and at the same speed of the rod.

A cradle 15 is rotatably mounted to each support element 11 by member 116 is fastened to an end of a shaft 16 which is rotatably received in support 11 and has fastened at its other end a lever arm 17 which carries, mounted eccentrically in relation to said shaft, a roller 18 engaged in the flute or track 1 19 of a cam 19 mounted on the pin shaft 5. The configuration of track 19 issuch that the cradle-shaped elements 15 integral with shafts 16 are held parallel to the support 2, while the respective support 11 is guided on the straight profile section of cam 13. I

Each cradle 15 traces a traverse motion, during a short rectilinear section, parallel to the path of rod 1, to support and guide the rod. A blade of any cutoff, synchronized with the motion of the cradle, cuts the rod, by passing through the' transversal slit 115 of, the cradle, in the same manner as in the known devices in which the tubular guide moves reciprocatingly. In other words, with the above arrangement, the cradle supports and guides the rod during the time required for a cutting operation.

In this invention, by using rod supporting and guiding cradles which trace a continuous unidirectional motion along a closed circuit, it is possible to obtain very high cutting rates. Furthermore, the above mentioned axial translation motion of the cradle, to support and guide the rod or other braid or rodshaped article, along a substantially rectilinear path section, can be obtained by compounding, in any suitable manner, two or more distinct movements of the cradle and/or of its support without disregarding the substantially unidirectional and generally continuous movement of the cradle (s) in operating succession along a continuous or closed path.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment which has been illustrated and described and that many variations and modifications are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically described herein.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for supporting a continuous cigarette rod being driven in a straight path while a blade is driven therethrough to cut a cigarette element therefrom, which comprises:

a disk-shaped support means mounted adjacent the path of said cigarette rod, a plurality of support members mounted for axial movement in said disk, means for rotating said disk to drive each of said supports past the cigarette rod, a shaft mounted for oscillatory movement in each of said support members,

a cradle-like cigarette support mounted on each of said,

shafts in spaced relationship with the cigarette rod, means for driving each of said support members parallel to the straight path of the cigarette rod as it is driven therepast, means separate from the last named means for driving each of the respective shafts in a straight path, whereby the cradle-like cigarette support mounted thereto is driven in a straight path, engaging and supporting the cigarette rod. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for driving each of said support means parallel to the cigarette rod includes,

means biasing each of support means toward the center of the disk, a first roller mounted toeach of said supports, and a first cam track mounted parallel to said disk for engaging said rollers, said cam having a portion parallel to said cigarette rod. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for engaging each of said shafts includes:

a lever mounted to each of said shafts, a roller mounted at the end of each lever, and a second cam track mounted parallel to said disk for engaging the rollers at the end of the levers, said second cam track having a portion parallel to said cigarette rod.

Claims

1. Apparatus for supporting a continuous cigarette rod being driven in a straight path while a blade is driven therethrough to cut a cigarette element therefrom, which comprises: a disk-shaped support means mounted adjacent the path of said cigarette rod, a plurality of support members mounted for axial movement in said disk, means for rotating said disk to drive each of said supports past the cigarette rod, a shaft mounted for oscillatory movement in each of said support members, a cradle-like cigarette support mounted on each of said shafts in spaced relationship with the cigarette rod, means for driving each of said support members parallel to the straight path of the cigarette rod as it is driven therepast, means separate from the last named means for driving each of the respective shafts in a straight path, whereby the cradle-like cigarette support mounted thereto is driven in a straight path, engaging and supporting the cigarette rod.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for driving each of said support means parallel to the cigarette rod includes, means biasing each of support means toward the center of the disk, a first roller mounted to each of said supports, and a first cam track mounted parallel to said disk for engaging said rollers, said cam having a portion parallel to said cigarette rod.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for engaging each of said shafts includes: a lever mounted to each of said shafts, a roller mounted at the end of each lever, and a second cam track mounted parallel to said dIsk for engaging the rollers at the end of the levers, said second cam track having a portion parallel to said cigarette rod.