Replenishing device, an apparatus for manufacturing multi-segment rods and a method for manufacturing multi-segment rods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12035744-B2
Application number	US-201816766693-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 21, 2018
Priority date	Dec 3, 2017
Publication date	Jul 16, 2024
Grant date	Jul 16, 2024

Abstract

A replenishing device for replenishing a flute of a transporter with a rod-like element, wherein the transporter comprises multiple flutes located transversally with respect to a transporting direction and adapted to transport rod-like elements, the replenishing device comprising: a feeding duct for feeding the rod-like element; a rotary replenishing element having an axis of rotation, comprising at least one transferring seat for receiving the rod-like element from the feeding duct in a receiving zone and for transferring the rod-like element to the flute of the transporter in a transferring zone, wherein the rotary replenishing element is adapted to repeatedly pass the same rod-like element through the transferring zone before transferring that rod-like element to the flute of the transporter; and a transferring mechanism for effecting the transfer of the rod-like element from the transferring seat to the flute of the transporter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A replenishing device for replenishing a flute of a transporter with a rod-like element, comprising:
a transporter comprising multiple flutes located transversally with respect to a transporting direction and adapted to transport rod-like elements;
a feeding duct for feeding the rod-like element;
a rotary replenishing element having an axis of rotation, comprising at least one transferring seat for receiving the rod-like element from the feeding duct in a receiving zone and for transferring the rod-like element to the flute of the transporter in a transferring zone, wherein the rotary replenishing element is adapted to repeatedly pass the same rod-like element through the transferring zone before transferring that rod-like element to the flute of the transporter upon detection of an empty flute by a rod-like element electronic sensor; and
a transferring mechanism for effecting the transfer of the rod-like element from the transferring seat to the flute of the transporter and adapted to transfer the rod-like element towards the flute of the transporter with a force supplemental to gravitational force and centrifugal force resulting from rotation of the rotary replenishing element.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the rotary replenishing element comprises at least two seats.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein the transferring mechanism comprises movable pushing-off elements.

4. The device of claim 2 , wherein the transferring mechanism comprises movable pushing-off elements.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the transferring mechanism comprises a pivotal lever on which an axis of rotation (V) of the rotary replenishing element is mounted.

6. The device of claim 2 , wherein the transferring mechanism comprises a pivotal lever on which an axis of rotation (V) of the rotary replenishing element is mounted.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the transferring mechanism comprises a negative pressure supply unit for holding the rod-like element in the transferring seat and a compressed air supply unit for pushing the rod-like element from the transferring seat into an empty flute.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the transferring seat has an axis of rotation (Y) that circulates around the axis of rotation (X) of the rotary replenishing element.

9. The device of claim 8 , wherein the seat of rotary replenishing element is connected to a first gear wheel with the axis (Y) rotating with a first rotational velocity (ω 1 ), a second gear wheel coupled to the first gear wheel rotating with a second rotational velocity (ω 2 ), and a rotational velocity (ωy) of the seat depends on a difference between the first rotational velocity (ω 1 ) and the second rotational velocity (ω 2 ).

10. The device claim 8 , wherein the transferring seat is mounted on an arm and connected to a first gear wheel coupled with a second gear wheel.

11. The device of claim 9 , wherein the transferring seat is mounted on an arm and connected to the first gear wheel coupled with the second gear wheel.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein a velocity imparted to the rod-like element by the transferring seat in the transferring zone is equal to a velocity of the flute.

13. The device of claim 1 , wherein a velocity imparted to the rod-like element by the transferring seat in the transferring zone is equal to a velocity of the flute.

14. An apparatus for manufacturing multi-segment rods, the apparatus comprising:
a feeding unit comprising feeding modules, each module having a replenishing device comprising
a transporter comprising multiple flutes located transversally with respect to a transporting direction and adapted to transport rod-like elements;
a feeding duct for feeding the rod-like element;
a rotary replenishing element having an axis of rotation, comprising at least one transferring seat for receiving the rod-like element from the feeding duct in a receiving zone and for transferring the rod-like element to the flute of the transporter in a transferring zone, wherein the rotary replenishing element is adapted to repeatedly pass the same rod-like element through the transferring zone before transferring that rod-like element to the flute of the transporter upon detection of an empty flute by a rod-like element electronic sensor; and
a transferring mechanism for effecting the transfer of the rod-like element from the transferring seat to the flute of the transporter;
a garniture unit comprising a garniture device and a cutting head;
a transferring device located between the feeding unit and the garniture unit adapted to transfer the rod-like element towards the flute of the transporter with a force supplemental to gravitational force and centrifugal force resulting from rotation of the rotatory rotary replenishing element.

15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the rotary replenishing element comprises at least two seats.

16. The device of claim 14 , wherein the transferring mechanism comprises movable pushing-off elements.

17. A method for manufacturing multi-segment rods, the method comprising the steps of:
supplying at least two types of rod-like elements to separate feeding modules of a manufacturing machine;
placing the rod-like elements in a reservoir of the feeding module of the manufacturing machine;
placing the rod-like elements, accumulated in the reservoir, into flutes of a transporter in a transporting path of the feeding module;
cutting the rod-like elements into segments while the rod-like elements are transported on the transporter;
forming a train of segments comprising a plurality of segments supplied by the transporting paths from individual reservoirs of the feeding modules;
wrapping the formed train of plurality of segments by a wrapper to form a continuous rod;
cutting the formed continuous rod into individual multi-segment rods,
delivering a rod-like element to a rotary replenishing element of a replenishing device located above the transporter;
maintaining the replenishing device in a state that is ready to transfer the rod-like element to the transporter, wherein the rod-like element maintains a rotary motion;
upon detection of an empty flute by a rod-like element electronic sensor, replenishing the empty flute with the rod-like element from the reservoir in the flute of the transporter; and
rejecting the multi-segment rods comprising segments of the rod-like element that was transferred to the empty flute.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein a velocity of the rod-like element in the replenishing device is synchronized with a velocity of the transporter.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein, upon detecting the absence of the rod-like element from the reservoir in the flute of the transporter, the method further comprises replenishing the empty flute with a replacement rod-like element of a type other than the type of the rod-like element from the reservoir.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein, upon detecting the absence of the rod-like element from the reservoir in the flute of the transporter, the method further comprises replenishing the empty flute with a replacement rod-like element of a type other than the type of the rod-like element from the reservoir.

Assignees

• Int Tobacco Machinery Poland Sp Zoo

Inventors

• Cieslikowski Bartosz

Classifications

• A24C5/35

  Adaptations of conveying apparatus for transporting cigarettes from making machine to packaging machine · CPC title

• A24C5/327

  Construction details of the cigarette transport drum · CPC title

• A24C5/28

  Cutting-off the tobacco rod · CPC title

• A24C5/10

  Machines with wrapping rollers · CPC title

• B65B57/04

  and operating to control, or to stop, the feed of such material, containers, or packages · CPC title