Cleaner assemblies, apparatuses including a cleaner assembly, methods of making the same, and/or methods of operating the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11891204-B2
Application number	US-202217674216-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 17, 2022
Priority date	Feb 17, 2022
Publication date	Feb 6, 2024
Grant date	Feb 6, 2024

Abstract

A cleaner assembly for an apparatus for making pouch products includes a cleaner roller and a poker roller. The cleaner roller may counter rotate with a rotatable drum of the apparatus, in contact with an upper surface of a first elastic layer on the rotatable drum, and at a greater tangential speed than at least one surface of an outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum or an upper surface of the first elastic layer. The poker roller includes projections that are each configured to extend into one or more divots of the rotatable drum. The poker roller may counter rotate with the rotatable drum and at a same tangential speed as the at least one surface such that the projections extend into and out of separate, respective divots of the rotatable drum based on the counter rotation of the poker roller and the rotatable drum.

First claim

We claim:

1. An apparatus for making pouch products, the apparatus comprising:
a first material dispensing station configured to transfer a first material to a first receiving location, the first material including a first elastic layer and a first support layer, the first material dispensing station including:
a dispenser roller configured to hold a roll of the first material,
a plurality of rollers configured to convey the first material from the dispenser roller to the first receiving location, and
a stripper plate configured to remove at least a portion of the first support layer from a portion of the first elastic layer;

a doser assembly at a dosing location, the doser assembly configured to deliver a filler material to a portion of the first material;
a second material dispensing station configured to transfer a second material to a second receiving location, the second material including a second elastic layer and a second support layer, the first material being aligned with the second material at the second receiving location, such that the filler material is between the portion of the first material and a portion of the second material, wherein the second material dispensing station includes:
a second dispenser roller configured to hold a roll of the second material,
a second plurality of rollers configured to convey the second material from the second dispenser roller to the second receiving location, and
a second stripper plate configured to remove at least a portion of the second support layer from the second elastic layer, the second stripper plate adjacent the second receiving location;

a conveyor system, the conveyor system including a rotatable drum, the rotatable drum including a plurality of divots along an outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum, the plurality of divots configured to travel along a path of the rotatable drum, the plurality of divots configured to allow a vacuum to be communicated to the plurality of divots at the dosing location, such that separate, respective portions of the first elastic layer are drawn into separate, respective divots of the plurality of divots at the dosing location; and
a cleaner assembly between the doser assembly and the second material dispensing station, the cleaner assembly configured to move the filler material on an upper surface of the first elastic layer into one or more divots of the plurality of divots and to compress the filler material in the one or more divots, wherein the cleaner assembly includes:
a cleaner roller configured to counter rotate with the rotatable drum at a greater tangential speed than at least one of the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum or the upper surface of the first elastic layer, such that an outer surface of the cleaner roller is in contact with the upper surface of the first elastic layer on the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum, and
a poker roller including a plurality of projections that are each configured to extend into the one or more divots of the plurality of divots of the rotatable drum, the poker roller configured to counter rotate with the rotatable drum at a same tangential speed as the at least one of the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum or the upper surface of the first elastic layer, such that the projections extend into and out of separate, respective divots of the plurality of divots based on the counter rotation of the poker roller and the rotatable drum,
wherein the cleaner roller is between the dosing location and the poker roller, such that the cleaner roller is configured to move the filler material on the upper surface of the first elastic layer into the one or more divots of the plurality of divots of the rotatable drum prior to the poker roller compressing the filler material in the one or more divots of the plurality of divots.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of divots of the rotatable drum includes a plurality of separate lanes of divots extending in parallel around the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum,
the plurality of projections of the poker roller includes a plurality of lanes of projections extending in parallel around an outer circumferential surface of the poker roller, and
the plurality of lanes of projections are aligned with separate, respective lanes of divots of the rotatable drum such that respective projections of each separate lane of projections is configured to extend into and out of one or more divots of a separate, respective lane of divots of the rotatable drum based on the counter rotation of the poker roller and the rotatable drum.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the cleaner roller includes at least a compressible roller material that defines the outer surface of the cleaner roller, and
the cleaner roller is configured to compress the compressible roller material against the upper surface of the first elastic layer on the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein
the compressible roller material includes silicone.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
the cleaner roller is a circular cylindrical roller or a polygonal cylindrical roller.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
a smallest spacing distance between the rotatable drum and the cleaner roller is equal to or less than a thickness of the first material.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein
each divot of the plurality of divots has a first length in a first direction, a first width in a second direction that crosses the first direction, and a first depth in a third direction that crosses the first and second directions,
each projection of the plurality of projections has a second length in a fourth direction that is parallel with a tangent of a curvature of the poker roller, a second width in a fifth direction that crosses the fourth direction, and a second depth in a sixth direction that crosses the fourth and fifth directions,
the second length is smaller than the first length, and
the second width is smaller than the first width.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each projection of the plurality of projections has an outer surface that is distal from a central axis of the poker roller and has a convex curvature.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cleaner roller is configured to rotate such that the outer surface of the cleaner roller moves at a tangential speed that is at least three times greater than the tangential speed of the at least one of the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum or the upper surface of the first elastic layer.

10. A cleaner assembly for an apparatus for making pouch products, the cleaner assembly comprising:
a cleaner roller configured to counter rotate with a rotatable drum of the apparatus at a greater tangential speed than at least one of an outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum or an upper surface of a first elastic layer on the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum, such that an outer surface of the cleaner roller is in contact with the upper surface of the first elastic layer on the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum, and
a poker roller including a plurality of projections that are each configured to extend into one or more divots of a plurality of divots of the rotatable drum, the poker roller configured to counter rotate with the rotatable drum at a same tangential speed as the at least one of the outer circumferential surface of the rotatable drum or the upper surface of the first elastic layer, such that the projections extend into and out of separate, respective divots of the plurality of divots based on the counter rotati

Assignees

• Altria Client Services Llc

Inventors

• Chalkley Jarrod W
• Powell Robert
• Newcomb Christopher R
• Straight Jeremy
• Mcgill Isaac J
• Evans James David
• Mcelhinney Patrick

Classifications

• B08B1/34

  rotating about an axis parallel to the surface · CPC title

• B65B55/24 Primary

  Cleaning of, or removing dust from, containers, wrappers, or packaging {; Preventing of fouling} · CPC title

• B08B1/30 Primary

  by movement of cleaning members over a surface · CPC title

• B08B1/008

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B08B1/04

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic