Feeder device of products with reduced longitudinal dimensions in machines for the tobacco industry

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9681683-B2
Application number	US-201414892008-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 20, 2014
Priority date	May 24, 2013
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

A feeder device of products with reduced longitudinal dimensions in machines for the tobacco industry comprises a main feeder roller which rotates continuously and which has a plurality of active peripheral flutes acting to hold a respective product; the main roller is designed to pass the products on to respective flutes on corresponding handling rollers of a main line of feed of the products in the machine the device is associated with; the device comprises means for continuously filling the peripheral flutes of the main roller, the filling means comprising a plurality of feeding and passing-on means, in particular at least first means and second means for feeding and passing on corresponding groups of the products to corresponding groups of flutes located one after the other on the main roller.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A feeder device of plugs of filter material with reduced longitudinal dimensions in a machine for the tobacco industry, comprising:
a main feeder roller having a plurality of main feeder roller active peripheral flutes each acting to hold a respective one of the plugs, the main feeder roller configured to pass the plugs on to respective flutes on corresponding handling rollers of a main line of feed of the plugs in the machine;
a filling device for filling the main feeder roller active peripheral flutes, the filling device comprising:
first and second primary rollers,
a first feeding and passing on device and a second feeding and passing on device for feeding and passing on respective groups of the plugs to the respective first and second primary rollers, which rotate continuously and which have respective primary roller active peripheral flutes acting to hold the respective groups of the plugs, and from the respective primary roller active peripheral flutes to corresponding groups of main feeder roller active peripheral flutes;
first and second housing and releasing devices for housing and releasing the respective groups of the plugs;
the first and second feeding and passing on devices including, respectively, first and second transferring devices for transferring the respective groups of the plugs withdrawn from corresponding first and second housing and releasing devices;
each of the first and second primary rollers continuously receiving the respective groups of the plugs from the corresponding first and second transferring device,
each of the first and second transferring devices comprising a first carrier and a second carrier, movable in sequence between the respective first and second housing and releasing device and the respective first and second primary roller; the groups of main feeder roller active peripheral flutes being located one after the other.

2. The device according to claim 1 , wherein, for each of the first and second primary rollers, the primary roller active peripheral flutes are located along an angular stretch of the primary roller, the angular stretch being a submultiple of a total angular size of the respective first and second primary roller.

3. The device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second carriers returns to the respective first and second housing and releasing device by a movement which is a closed loop.

4. The device according to claim 1 , and further comprising first and second drives for independently driving the first and second feeding and passing on devices, respectively.

5. The device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second carriers of the respective first and second feeding and passing on devices moves along a common longitudinal axis of feed; the respective first and second drives being located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein at the first and second housing and releasing devices, the plugs are placed in respective flutes of the respective first and second carrier by a movement transversal to a trajectory of feed of the respective first and second carrier.

7. The device according to claim 1 , wherein each first and second carrier includes a stopping device for stopping a movement and positioning of a respective one of the plugs placed in a respective flute, the stopping device including a wall at a lateral outside end opposite an end where the respective one of the plugs is placed in the respective flute.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein each carrier has a number of flutes corresponding to a submultiple of a number of main feeder roller active peripheral flutes.

9. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second carriers of each of the first and second feeding and passing on devices feed the primary roller active peripheral flutes of the respective first and second primary rollers one after another.

10. The device according to claim 1 , and further comprising, between one of the first and second primary rollers and the main feeder roller, which has continuous motion, an advancing device for advancing the groups of plugs, the advancing device comprising a first advancing roller and a second advancing roller having respective active peripheral flutes acting to hold the plugs and situated at respective angular stretches of the respective first and second advancing rollers, the angular stretches being a submultiple of a total angular size of the main feeder roller.

11. The device according to claim 1 , comprising an arranging device for arranging the plugs received from the main feeder roller in two parallel rows, where individual products of the two parallel rows are aligned with each other transversely to a direction of feed.

12. The device according to claim 1 , wherein for each of the first and second primary rollers, the primary roller active peripheral flutes are located along an angular stretch of the primary roller, the angular stretch being half an angular size of the respective first and second primary roller.

13. The device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second carriers receives the group of plugs in a loading station at the respective first and second housing and releasing device and moves until the each of the first and second carriers reaches a peripheral speed of the respective first and second primary roller at a passing on station for passing on the plugs to the respective primary roller active peripheral flutes.

14. The device according to claim 13 , and further comprising, at an active transfer stretch of the first and second carriers, extending from the loading station to the passing on station, a suction chamber which is in communication with the flutes of the carriers during movement on the active transfer stretch for transferring the plugs, the suction chamber being aligned with a longitudinal axis of feed of the first and second carriers.

15. The device according to claim 13 , wherein one of the first and second carriers of the respective first and second feeding and passing on devices is stationary at the loading station, when the other of the first and second carriers is in motion.

16. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second feeding and passing on devices each comprise a plurality of conveying channels for conveying corresponding rows of plugs towards a respective bottom outlet end for the plugs; the plurality of conveying channels corresponding to a number of plugs in each group of plugs.

17. The device according to claim 16 , and further comprising accompanying devices for accompanying the plugs into the respective conveying channels resting on the plugs previously fed into the channels when a new row of plugs from a new tray for storing the plugs is fed into the respective conveying channels.

18. The device according to claim 17 , wherein the accompanying devices each comprise a respective supporting element for supporting the new row of plugs and which is movable from a raised position for receiving the new row of plugs and a lowered position for releasing the new row of plugs onto the preceding plugs; the supporting element returning to the raised position in order to accompany the next row of plugs.

19. The device according to claim 18 , and further comprising, at the respective bottom outlet ends, pusher devices for pushing the plugs into the respective flutes of the carriers.

20. The device according to claim 19 , wherein the respective conveying channels inc

Assignees

• Gd Spa

Inventors

• Esposti Marco
• Eusepi Ivan
• Baldanza Nicola
• Sartoni Massimo

Classifications

• B65B19/10

  Arranging cigarettes in layers each comprising a predetermined number · CPC title

• A24C5/327

  Construction details of the cigarette transport drum · CPC title

• A24C5/478 Primary

  Transport means for filter- or cigarette-rods in view of their assembling · CPC title

• B65G47/848

  the article-engaging elements being suction or magnetic means · CPC title

• B65G47/846

  Star-shaped wheels or wheels equipped with article-engaging elements · CPC title