Feed apparatus and method for automatically feeding casings for smoking articles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12258222-B2
Application number	US-202218561920-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 20, 2022
Priority date	May 20, 2021
Publication date	Mar 25, 2025
Grant date	Mar 25, 2025

Abstract

A feed apparatus for automatically feeding casings for smoking articles toward a transport member includes a feed unit disposed in a position above the transport member and configured to temporarily support the casings before they are fed to the transport member below, and a conveyor unit interposed between the feed unit and the transport member to selectively pick up the casings from the feed unit and send them to the transport member.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Feed apparatus for automatically feeding casings for forming smoking articles toward at least one transport member having one or more first seatings aligned along a substantially horizontal transport axis and configured to each receive one of said casings, in which said casings are hollow and stackable so as to be partly inserted into one another forming stacks, said apparatus comprising:
feed means disposed in a position above said at least one transport member and configured to temporarily support the stacks of said casings and conveyor means interposed between said feed means and said at least one transport member and configured to selectively convey said casings from said feed means one by one toward said one or more first seatings of said at least one transport member, in which each of said stacks comprises a first casing located at a lower end of the respective stack and in which at least a second casing is partly inserted from above,
said conveyor means comprising first stop means configured to move between a position of interference, in which said first stop means cooperate, for each of said stacks, with said first casing to temporarily stop the fall of the first casing, and a position of non-interference, in which said first stop means free said first casing, so that the first casing freed can be released into one of said one or more first seatings, wherein said conveyor means also comprise second stop means, disposed between said feed means and said first stop means, configured to move between an engagement position, in which said second stop means cooperate, for each one of said stacks, with the second casing closest to the first casing, in order to temporarily stop the fall, for each of said stacks), of the casings above said first casing, at least when said first stop means are in the position of non-interference, and a disengagement position, in which said second stop means free the second casing closest to the first casing to let it fall onto said first stop means, only while said first stop means are in the position of interference, the second casing left to fall by said second stop means becoming the new first casing when it arrives at said first stop means,
wherein said feed means comprise a rotating member mounted rotatably about a substantially vertical axis of rotation and having a plurality of second seatings parallel to said axis of rotation and configured to each receive one of said stacks of said casings, wherein said rotating member is configured to perform incremental rotations, each of a determinate angle, to selectively take a row of said plurality of second seatings disposed along a radial segment of said rotating member, in vertical alignment with said conveyor means,
wherein said feed means comprise a closing disc configured to selectively occlude said plurality of second seatings and free only the second seatings which are located along the row disposed along said radial segment in vertical alignment with said conveyor means, so as to allow the descent only of the stacks of casings which are located in the second seatings which are not occluded by said closing disc.

2. Feed apparatus as in claim 1 , wherein said conveyor means also comprise gripping means configured to grip said first casing from said first stop means and to take said first casing gripped in proximity to said at least one transport member, so as to release it into one of said one or more first seatings.

3. Feed apparatus as in claim 2 , wherein said first gripping means are mobile along a first rectilinear segment, lying on a vertical plane, between a first raised position, when they grip said first casing and a second lowered position, when they take said first casing gripped in proximity to said at least one transport member.

4. Feed apparatus as in claim 3 , wherein said gripping means are configured to grip said first casing in said first raised position when said first stop means are in the position of interference, and move to said second lowered position to take said first casing gripped in proximity to said at least one transport member, when said first stop means are in the position of non-interference.

5. Feed apparatus as in claim 1 , wherein said rotating member comprises an upper disc and a lower disc disposed coaxial to and opposite each other, with a plurality of tubular elements interposed, communicating with said plurality of second seatings, said tubular elements being disposed parallel to the axis of rotation.

6. Feed apparatus as in claim 1 , wherein said second stop means each comprise at least one gripper having a pair of jaws, configured to selectively open and close on said casings.

7. Feed apparatus as in claim 1 , further comprising detection means positioned between said feed means and said conveyor means configured to detect, in each stack, the possible lack of casings with respect to a determined pre-established number, and an electronic control unit configured to control, in response to a signal emitted by said detection means, said second stop means so that they selectively retain the stack, the number of casings of which is lower than the determined pre-established number, so as to inhibit the movement in the disengagement position of said second stop means, at least until the electronic control unit receives a signal from the detection means corresponding to the detection of a number of casings at least equal to the determined pre-established number.

8. Feed apparatus as in claim 1 , wherein said first stop means comprise a comb-shaped plate which is mobile along a second rectilinear segment, lying on a horizontal plane, when it moves between the position of interference and the position of non-interference.

9. Feed apparatus as in claim 1 , wherein the distance, taken along a vertical axis, between the first stop means and the second stop means, remains fixed and is slightly greater than the length of said casings.

10. Feed method for automatically feeding casings for forming smoking articles to at least one transport member having one or more first seatings aligned along a substantially horizontal transport axis and configured to each receive one of said casings, wherein said casings are hollow and stackable so as to be partly inserted one into the other forming stacks, said method comprising;
feeding said stacks of casings from feed means, disposed in a position above said at least one transport member, to conveyor means interposed between said feed means and said at least one transport member, and selectively conveying by said conveyor means said casings one by one toward said one or more first seatings of said at least one transport member,
wherein each of said stacks comprises a first casing located at a lower end of the respective stack and in which at least a second casing is partly inserted from above,
where in said conveying step, first stop means of said conveyor means, disposed between said feed means and said at least one transport member, are moved between a position of interference, in which said first stop means cooperate, for each of said stacks, with said first casing, temporarily stopping the fall of the first casing, and a position of non-interference, in which said first stop means free said first casing, so that the first freed casing is released into one of said one or more first seatings, wherein second stop means of said conveyor means, disposed between said feed means and said first stop means, are moved between an engagement position, in which said second stop means cooperate, for each of said stacks, with the second casing closest to the first casing, temporarily stopping the fall, for each of said stacks, of the casings above said first casing, at

Assignees

• Ima Spa

Inventors

• Caporale Antonio
• Di Monte Adriano

Classifications

• B65G2203/0241

  Quantity of articles · CPC title

• B65G2201/0226

  Cigarettes · CPC title

• B65G59/106

  comprising lifting or gripping means · CPC title

• B65G59/062

  by means of reciprocating or oscillating escapement-like mechanisms · CPC title

• B65G43/08

  Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed or discharged {(and controlling the discharging devices B65G47/42)} · CPC title