Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
  • A24D—CIGARS; CIGARETTES; TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS; MOUTHPIECES OF CIGARS OR CIGARETTES; MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO SMOKE FILTERS OR MOUTHPIECES
  • A24D3/00—Tobacco smoke filters, e.g. filter tips or filtering inserts; Filters specially adapted for simulated smoking devices; Mouthpieces of cigars or cigarettes
  • A24D3/02—Manufacture of tobacco smoke filters
  • A24D3/0204—Preliminary operations before the filter rod forming process, e.g. crimping, blooming
  • A24D3/0212—Applying additives to filter materials
  • A24D3/0216—Applying additives to filter materials the additive being in the form of capsules, beads or the like

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates to a feeding device for feeding spherical objects, applicable for tobacco industry, and to a method for feeding spherical objects in a tobacco industry machine.
• Tobacco industry products may comprise capsules with scent substances.
• the capsules can be placed in cigarette filters, and the smokers, before or during smoking, can squeeze the capsule with their fingers to release the scent.
• the capsules may be placed in a filtering material.
• cigarettes with two capsules placed in a mouthpiece in the filtering material wherein the two capsules may be squeezed separately or both at the same time.
• mouthpieces for cigarettes which are made of two or more different filtering segments, where the capsules may be placed in a space between the segments.
• the capsules are delivered to a feeding machine, for feeding the capsules in the filtering material, usually in a mass flow, i.e. are poured into a mass container.
• the capsules are transferred from the mass container to the device, which places them one by one into the filtering material.
• the capsules received from the mass container have to be transferred to the device which handles single capsules or a stream of single capsules.
• a US patent application US2007068540A1 discloses a device, in which capsules are received from a mass chamber and are transferred to a single layer chamber. From the single layer of capsules, the capsules are received by means of sockets of a feeding wheel and as a result the stream of single capsules moving on a circular path, is formed. From the feeding wheel the capsules are transferred to the filtering material band.
• a PCT patent application WO2005032286A2 discloses a device in which capsules are received from a rotary container by means of negative pressure and are transferred to sockets of a feeding wheel.
• a PCT patent application WO2011083405 Al discloses a device in which separate streams are formed of capsules from a rotary mass chamber, wherein the streams move in horizontal ducts, wherein the ducts rotate together with the mass chamber.
• a US patent US7757835B2 discloses a device wherein streams of capsules move at a certain angle.
• the capsules are also referred to as spherical objects.
• a feeding device for feeding spherical objects for tobacco industry applications, comprising: a mass chamber for storing a plurality of the spherical objects; at least one single layer chamber located below the mass chamber and connected with the mass chamber such that the spherical objects may flow from the mass chamber to the single layer chamber, wherein the single layer chamber comprises an outlet having multiple outlet ducts for outputting the spherical objects to a receiving device; at least one roller located next to the outlet duct, wherein a circumferential surface of the roller constitutes a wall of the outlet duct.
• the feeding device further comprises a cylindrical rotary element located below the mass chamber in an area of connection of the mass chamber and the single layer chamber, wherein a side surface of the cylindrical rotary element constitutes a wall for guiding the flow of the spherical objects from the mass chamber to the single layer chamber.
• the cylindrical rotary element may be located tangentially to a wall of a bottom of the mass chamber.
• the cylindrical rotary element may be located tangentially to the single layer chamber.
• the single layer chamber may be arranged vertically.
• Two rollers may be located at the outlet duct, wherein circumferential surfaces of the rollers may be configured to rotate in opposite directions during operation of the device.
• the circumferential surface of one roller may constitute a side wall of two neighboring outlet ducts.
• the cylindrical rotary element may be configured to rotate in a direction in which its surface of contact with the spherical objects moves in an opposite direction to the direction of flow of the spherical objects from the mass chamber to the single layer chamber.
• the cylindrical rotary element may be configured to rotate in a direction in which its surface of contact with the spherical objects moves in the same direction as the direction of flow of the spherical objects from the mass chamber to the single layer chamber.
• the method comprises inducing the spherical objects fed from the mass chamber to the single layer chamber to rotate by means of a cylindrical rotary element located in the region of connection of the mass chamber and the single layer chamber.
• the method may comprise rotating the cylindrical rotary element in a direction in which its surface of contact with the spherical objects moves in an opposite direction to the direction of flow of the spherical objects from the mass chamber to the single layer chamber.
• the method may comprise rotating the cylindrical rotary element in a direction in which its surface of contact with the spherical objects moves in the same direction as the direction of flow of the spherical objects from the mass chamber to the single layer chamber.
• the method may comprise inducing the spherical objects fed from the single layer chamber to the outlet ducts to rotate by means of the rollers located at the inlet of the outlet ducts, wherein the circumferential surfaces of the rollers move in opposite directions.
• Fig. 1 shows a feeding device for feeding spherical objects
• Fig. 2 shows a side view of the device of Fig. 1 without a sidewall
• Figs. 3 and 4 show an outlet of the feeding device of Fig. 1;
• Fig. 5 shows a feeding device with two single layer chambers.
• a mass chamber 2 for capsules 3, in a feeding device 1 presented in Fig. 1, has a form of a container that is open at the top and at the bottom and comprises sidewalls 4, 5, a front wall 6 and an inclined bottom 7.
• the front wall 6 and the bottom 7 are convergent, forming an outlet 8 in a lower part 2A of the mass chamber 2.
• the mass chamber 2 may have other shapes as well.
• the capsules 3 may be delivered to the mass chamber 2 manually, by means of a container or by means of a typical feeding unit, for example a pneumatic feeding unit or a mechanical feeding unit with a transporter for capsules 3, wherein the feeding unit is not shown in the drawing.
• a typical feeding unit for example a pneumatic feeding unit or a mechanical feeding unit with a transporter for capsules 3, wherein the feeding unit is not shown in the drawing.
• a cylindrical rotary element 9 is located under the bottom 7 along a bottom edge
• the cylindrical rotary element rotates in a direction depicted by an arrow 9R, it means that it rotates such that its surface of contact with the capsules 3, moves in an opposite direction to the direction of flow of the capsules from the mass chamber 2 to a single layer chamber 10.
• the device may also operate when the cylindrical rotary element 9 rotates in an opposite direction, i.e. when it rotates such that its surface of contact with the capsules 3 moves in the same direction as the direction of flow of the capsules from the mass chamber 2 to the single layer chamber 10.
• the capsules 3 rotate due to the action of the force of friction between a surface of the capsules 3 and a rotating side surface 9A.
• the rotation of the capsules 3 facilitates their downward movement, because it reduces at least partially situations wherein non-rotating capsules could be blocked between the outlet 8 of the mass chamber and a front wall 11 of the single layer chamber 10.
• An axis of rotation X of the cylindrical rotary element 9 is substantially in parallel to the bottom edge 7A. Between the bottom edge 7A and the side surface 9A of the cylindrical rotary element 9 there is a gap, which has a width smaller than a diameter of the capsule 3.
• the cylindrical rotary element 9 may be located such that its side surface 9A is tangential to an inner surface 7B of the bottom 7 and it constitutes an extension of the bottom 7.
• the length of the cylindrical rotary element 9 is at least equal to the length of the edge 7 A of the bottom 7.
• the length of the cylindrical rotary element 9 is substantially equal to a length of the outlet 8.
• the single layer chamber 10 is attached to the mass chamber 2.
• the front wall 11 of the single layer chamber 10 forms an extension of the front wall 6 of the mass chamber 2, wherein the length of the single layer chamber 10 is equal to the length of the outlet 8 of the mass chamber 2.
• Another wall 12 of the single layer chamber 10 is spaced apart from its front wall 11 by a distance slightly greater than the diameter of the capsule 3, such as to enable the capsules 3 to fall under the force of gravity in the single layer chamber 10.
• an inner surface 12A of the wall 12 is preferably located tangentially to the side surface 9A of the cylindrical rotary element 9.
• the single layer chamber 10 is located vertically, but it may also be inclined in order to slow down sliding of the capsules and to increase the smoothness of the flow of the capsules.
• Side walls 13 and 14 of the single layer chamber 10 are arranged substantially in parallel to each other, and they may be also arranged convergently or divergently in a downward direction.
• an outlet 15 having a form of multiple outlet ducts 16.
• At an inlet 16E of the outlet duct 16 there are two rollers 17, 18, wherein their circumferential surfaces 17A, 18A constitute walls of the outlet duct 16.
• the inlet 16E of the outlet duct 16 is formed by the surfaces 17 A, 18A and the surfaces 11A and 12A of the walls 11 and 12 (Fig. 2).
• the rollers 17, 18 are mounted pivotally, wherein for clarity of the drawing, a driving unit of the rollers is not shown. As presented in Fig. 1 and Fig.
• the rollers 17, 18 rotate in the same directions 17R and 18R, so their circumferential surfaces 17A, 18A move in opposite directions with respect to the inlet 16E of the outlet duct 16. Therefore, when the capsules 3 are above the rollers 17, 18, some of them will be displaced or will be pushed by one of the rollers (the circumferential surface of which moves in a direction towards the inlet of the outlet duct) towards the inlet, and the rest of the capsules will be displaced or pushed by the second roller (the circumferential surface of which moves in a direction opposite to the inlet of the outlet duct) in the direction opposite to the outlet - it allows to prevent blocking of the capsules 3 and provides good flow conditions of the capsules 3 from the single layer chamber 10 to the outlet ducts 16.
• rollers of the consecutive pairs of rollers 18 and 17', 17' and 18', 18' and 17", 17" and 18" rotate in a similar manner.
• the ducts and rollers are arranged such that one roller 18, 17', 18', 17" cooperates with two outlet ducts 16, i.e. the circumferential surface of one roller constitutes the wall of one duct and of the neighboring duct.
• distributors 19 shown in Fig. 4 for directing the capsules 3 to particular outlet ducts 16.
• Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of a feeding device - having a doubled efficiency with respect to the feeding device 1 shown in Fig. 1.
• the feeding device 1 ' has a mass chamber 2' having side walls 4, 5, a front wall 6 and a back wall 6' and a bottom 7', which comprises two surfaces 7B and 7B'.
• the mass chamber 2' is connected with two single layer chambers 10 and 10'.
• a first cylindrical rotary element 9 is located in the region of the connection of the mass chamber 2' with the single layer chamber 10, and a second cylindrical rotary element 9' is located in the region of the connection of the mass chamber 2' with the single layer chamber 10'.
• the feeding device in a top view, occupies a similar area as the feeding device 1 of Fig. 1, but it allows to deliver twice as much of the capsules.
• one cylindrical rotary element 9 which is located in the region of connection of the mass chamber 2' with the single layer chamber 10, tangentially to the surface 7B and in the region of the connection of the mass chamber 2' with the single layer chamber 10', tangentially to the surface 7B'.
• Initializing the rotation of the cylindrical rotary element 9, 9', wherein its side surface 9A constitutes a fragment of the bottom of the mass chamber causes the capsules to begin to rotate with respect to the cylindrical rotary element 9, 9' and with respect to other capsules 3.
• Such location of the cylindrical rotary element is preferable, because the capsules do not have a possibility to block each other at the inlet to the single layer chamber 10, 10' during the operation of the device.
• the device as presented herein may be further extended to achieve a desired amount of outlet ducts, depending on the efficiency of the receiving device.
• one mass chamber may be connected with several single layer chambers.
• the single layer chamber together with the duct (or ducts) and the rotary element (or rotary elements) may form a module which may be connected to improve a previously constructed device.
• some of the outlets may be blocked, so as to adapt the efficiency of the feeding device to the receiving efficiency of cooperating devices.

Landscapes

• Filling Or Emptying Of Bunkers, Hoppers, And Tanks (AREA)
• Manufacturing Of Cigar And Cigarette Tobacco (AREA)
• Cigarettes, Filters, And Manufacturing Of Filters (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=61622579

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (2)

Citations (7)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 2017
  • 2017-03-10 PL PL420798A patent/PL239186B1/pl unknown
• 2018
  • 2018-03-08 CN CN201880017356.2A patent/CN110475485A/zh active Pending
  • 2018-03-08 KR KR1020197029671A patent/KR20190126001A/ko not_active Ceased
  • 2018-03-08 WO PCT/EP2018/055691 patent/WO2018162608A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2018-03-08 BR BR112019018711A patent/BR112019018711A2/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2018-03-08 US US16/493,302 patent/US20200120975A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2018-03-08 RU RU2019129906A patent/RU2759456C2/ru active
  • 2018-03-08 JP JP2019547679A patent/JP2020513797A/ja active Pending
  • 2018-03-08 EP EP18710430.2A patent/EP3592160B1/en active Active

Patent Citations (7)

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