The present invention relates to a cigarette packing machine and method.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a cigarette packing machine of the type comprising a packing conveyor having a number of packing pockets, each of which is designed to receive and house a respective wrapped group of cigarettes and a respective blank, and travels along a packing path extending through a loading station, where the blanks are loaded into the respective packing pockets; a feed unit for feeding the blanks along a feed path through the loading station, and which comprises a feed conveyor travelling along the feed path and having a number of feed pockets, each designed to receive and house a respective blank; and a transfer device located at the loading station and comprising a pusher movable back and forth along a transfer path to transfer the blanks from the respective feed pockets to the respective packing pockets in a given transfer direction. A machine of this type is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,993.
In known machines of the type described above, the blanks are partly folded by inserting them inside the respective packing pockets.
Normally, and especially when the packing pockets have no movable walls, the above folding method calls for relatively prolonged stops of the packing pockets at the loading station.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cigarette packing machine and method designed to reduce the stop time of the packing pockets.
According to the present invention, there are provided a cigarette packing machine and method as claimed in the attached Claims.
A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIGS. 2 to 4 show a folding sequence of the
FIGS. 7 to 12 show cross sections of the
Number 1 in FIGS. 1 to 4 indicates a blank, which, as it is fed by a packing wheel 2 (
Blank 1, which is known, is substantially rectangular, and comprises a central portion 5 extending along a longitudinal axis 6, and in turn comprising a front lid panel 7 having a reinforcing flap 8; a top lid panel 9; a rear panel 10; a bottom panel 11; and a front panel 12. Blank 1 also comprises two longitudinal lateral wings 13 located on opposite sides of central portion 5, and each comprising a portion 14 extending along front lid panel 7; a portion 15 extending along rear panel 10; a portion 16 extending along front panel 12; a tab 17 extending from portion 15 to portion 14; and a tab 18 extending from portion 15 to portion 16.
With reference to
Each packing pocket 19 is substantially U-shaped, with its concavity facing outwards of packing wheel 2, and comprises a bottom wall 21 parallel to an axis of rotation (not shown) of packing wheel 2; and two lateral walls 22 perpendicular to bottom wall 21 and also parallel to the axis of rotation (not shown) of packing wheel 2. More specifically, the distance between lateral walls 22 is approximately equal to but no smaller than the width of central portion 5 of blank 1; the length of lateral walls 22 and bottom wall 21 equals the length of rear panel 10 of blank 1; and the height of each lateral wall 22 is greater than the width of a lateral wing 13 of blank 1. Packing pockets 19 may be equally spaced along the periphery of packing wheel 2, so as to reach loading station 20 one at a time. In the example shown, however, packing pockets 19 are formed, along the periphery of packing wheel 2, into equally spaced groups 23 (only one shown) comprising at least two packing pockets 19 (in the example shown, each group comprises three packing pockets 19), and packing wheel 2 is rotated in steps to arrest a whole group 23 at loading station 20 at the end of each step. Packing pockets 19 are mounted movably on packing wheel 2, and are controlled so that, at loading station 20, the packing pockets 19 in each group 23 are aligned and equally spaced, with a given spacing, along a plane S located along packing path P1.
In addition to packing wheel 2, packing machine 3 also comprises a feed unit 24 for feeding blanks 1 along a feed path P2 extending through loading station 20 in a direction parallel to plane S and crosswise to the axis of rotation (not shown) of packing wheel 2. Feed unit 24 comprises a feed conveyor 25, which travels along feed path P2 and has a number of feed pockets 26, each for receiving and housing a respective blank 1. In the event packing pockets 19 are formed into groups 23, as in the example shown, feed conveyor 25 is advanced in steps to feed a number of feed pockets 26 equal to the number of packing pockets 19 in each group 23 into loading station 20 at each step. Moreover, feed pockets 26 are spaced along feed conveyor 25 with the same spacing as packing pockets 19 in said group 23 along plane S, and are arrested at loading station 20 so as to face respective packing pockets 19.
As shown in
Feed pockets 26 of feed conveyor 25 receive blanks 1 from a group of three hoppers (not shown) located along conveying branch 28, upstream from loading station 20. More specifically, a suction loading device (not shown) withdraws three blanks 1 at a time from the outlets of the three hoppers, and inserts the three blanks 1 into three feed pockets 26.
Packing machine 3 also comprises a transfer device 30 located at loading station 20, and which comprises a pusher 31 movable back and forth along a transfer path P3 to transfer blanks 1 from respective feed pockets 26 to respective packing pockets 19 in a transfer direction 32 perpendicular to feed path P2 and plane S. When packing pockets 19 are supplied in groups 23, as in the example shown, transfer device 30 comprises a number of integral pushers 31 equal to the number of packing pockets 19 in each group 23, and each pusher 31 is positioned facing, in transfer direction 32, a respective packing pocket 19 located in plane S at loading station 20.
Finally, for each stationary packing pocket 19 at loading station 20, packing machine 3 comprises a hollow folding spindle 33, which is located along transfer path P3 at loading station 20, between feed path P2 and the. portion of packing path P1 extending along plane S, is penetrated by pusher 31, and is integral with any other folding spindles 33.
As shown more clearly in
Still with reference to
As shown in
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, each pusher 31 is movable back and forth, along transfer path P3 and through relative folding spindle 33, between a rest position (
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, folding spindle 33 is movable in transfer direction 32.
More specifically, from a rest position (
Operation of packing machine 1 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 12, considering one packing pocket 19, relative feed pocket 26, relative pusher 31, and relative folding spindle 33, and as of a start instant (
In connection with the above, it should be pointed out that the start configuration shown in
To begin with, folding spindle 33 (
Next (
In this partly folded configuration, blank 1 defines a cup-shaped seat 46—bounded by rear panel 10, tabs 17 and 18, and portion 15 of each lateral wing 13—for later receiving a respective wrapped group 4 of cigarettes (
As shown in
In connection with the above, it should be pointed out that the width of lateral wings 13 is less than the distance between bottom wall 21 of packing pocket 19 and frame 41 of folding spindle 33 in the stop position, but is greater than the distance between the free edges of lateral walls 22 of packing pocket 19 and frame 41 of folding spindle 33 in the stop position, so that portions 15 (
In other words, folding spindle 33 not only provides for forming seat 46 off packing wheel 2 and, in fact, before packing wheel 2 has stopped—thus reducing the downtime of packing wheel 2—but also for precreasing both portions 16 of lateral wings 13, and reinforcing flap 8.
With reference to
As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, when stationary at loading station 20, packing pocket 19 is associated with two retaining devices 47, which are located at the open lateral ends of packing pocket 19 at loading station 20, on opposite sides of packing path P1, and provide for holding tabs 17 and 18 in the folded position when seat 46 is housed inside packing pocket 19. Each retaining device 47 comprises two folding members 48, 49, which are movable, in opposite directions and parallel to packing path Pi, between an open position (
As packing pocket 19 is fed by packing wheel 2 out of loading station 20, the function of retaining devices 47 is taken over by fixed retaining walls (not shown) extending along packing path P1 up to a further loading station 50 (
In an alternative embodiment not shown, feed unit 24 has no feed conveyor 25, and the three hoppers are located directly at loading station 20.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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BO2006A000215 | Mar 2006 | IT | national |