Feeding equipment for feeding tobacco industry segments

Abstract

The object of the invention is a feeding device for feeding tobacco industry segments (C), comprising: a hopper (12) for rods (10C); a cutting and conveying unit (13) located below the hopper (12) for cutting the rods (10C) into individual segments (C) and, starting from the rods (10C), forming groups (G) of segments (C) after cutting the rods; a transfer unit (15) located below the cutting and conveying unit (13) suitable for receiving the groups (G) of segments (C) and forming them into a flow (SF) of segments (C), with gaps (U) remaining between the groups (G) of segments (C) in the flow (SF), and the transfer unit (15) being suitable for reducing the gaps (U) between the groups (G) so that at the outlet (23) of the transfer unit (15) the segments (C) are conveyed without gaps. The device of the invention is provided with a sensor (26) suitable for checking at least one segment parameter, located in the area of ​​the outlet (23) of the transfer unit (15).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The object of the present invention is a feeding device for feeding tobacco industry segments. Background Art

[0002] In tobacco industry products, filter tips comprising filter materials are usually used. Filter tips made of a kind of filter material and multi-segment filter tips made of several filter materials are all common. Filter tips made of a kind of filter material and multi-segment filter tips can all include additional elements, for example, the insert of the bead comprising aromatic substances or the smell of the cigarette absorbing ignition. As shown in the embodiment among EP2622973B1, such beads can be placed in the continuous rod of filter material by bead feeding equipment, and such continuous rod is cut into the individual filter rod comprising several beads. From application EP2243385A2, known methods for checking the existence and quality of described beads in such continuous filter rods are known. The individual segments formed after cutting described continuous rod form a part for multi-segment filter, or are directly adhered to tobacco part. The presence and quality of the beads placed in the finished product (e.g., cigarette) can be checked in the filter attached to the cigarette as described in the publication WO2009099793A2, or before two cigarettes are cut into two individual cigarettes as described in WO2015135610A1, during their lateral movement to check the presence and quality of the beads. Since the beads may break, they should be checked at different production stages, such as before they are placed in a continuous rod, after the continuous rod is cut into individual rods, before the segments formed by the rods are attached, and in the finished product. It is very important to check the quality of the beads before the segments are attached to the tobacco portion, because any subsequent detection of the damaged beads and recovery of tobacco from the cigarette with the adhered filter are expensive and difficult. In addition, the adjacent segments (e.g., containing activated carbon) in the multi-segment rod or in the individual multi-segment filter may interfere with the filling and position measurement of the beads placed in the segments with filter material (e.g., acetate). Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is a feeding device for feeding tobacco industry segments, comprising: a hopper for rods, the length of which is a multiple of the length of the segments; a cutting and conveying unit, located below the hopper for rods, for cutting the rods into individual segments. Starting from the rods, after cutting the rods, groups of segments are formed. The device also comprises a transfer unit, located below the cutting and conveying unit, suitable for receiving the groups of segments and forming them into a stream of segments. Gaps are retained between the groups of segments in the stream. The transfer unit is suitable for reducing the gaps between the groups so that the segments are conveyed without gaps at the outlet of the transfer unit. The device according to the invention is characterized in that the feeding device is provided with a sensor located in the outlet area of ​​the transfer unit. The sensor is suitable for checking at least one segment parameter of a parameter group including the following parameters: the presence of an object in the segment, the mass of an object in the segment, the position of an object in the segment, the mass of the segment.

[0004] Preferably, the device according to the invention is characterized in that the sensor is a microwave sensor.

[0005] The device according to the invention is also characterized in that the sensor is an optical sensor.

[0006] The device according to the invention is also characterized in that the sensor is an X-ray sensor.

[0007] The device according to the invention is characterized in that the transfer unit is provided with a transfer roller, which is suitable for reducing the gaps between the groups and on whose side surface a spiral element is provided. The distance between adjacent coils of the spiral element in a direction parallel to the transfer roller decreases in the direction towards the outlet of the transfer unit.

[0008] The device according to the invention is characterized in that a separation unit is provided for separating individual segments from a flow of segments and comprises a rotatable cam for pushing the segments out of the flow.

[0009] The device according to the invention is characterized in that a positioning unit is provided for placing the segment on a conveyor, the conveyor being suitable for conveying a series of segments, and the positioning unit comprises a positioning disc.

[0010] The device according to the invention, based on the advantageous positioning of the sensor, allows to obtain more accurate measurements of the parameters of the filter segment and of the parameters of the objects inside this segment. The manufacture of multi-segment filters is carried out in multiple stages, the filter rod is cut into segments, the segments are wrapped in continuous multiple layers of packaging material, and the continuous multiple layers of glue and packaging material make the measurement difficult and can also cause measurement interference. In the device according to the invention, the sensor is located at the position where the segment is wrapped with the minimum number of layers of cigarette paper. The present invention is combined with the known technology for monitoring the position of the identified segments at the entire length of the production line, so that segments with parameters that do not meet the quality standards can be rejected. In the production line, measurements are carried out at all production stages, and the addition of measuring equipment at the early production stages can improve the quality control system and reduce the number of defective products rejected in subsequent production stages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The object of the invention is shown in detail in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 A view showing a production machine,

[0013] Figure 2 A rod containing beads is shown,

[0014] Figure 3 shows the flow of a segment moving through the sensor,

[0015] Figure 4 The previous view shows Figure 1 A module in the production machine,

[0016] Figure 5 Shown in top view Figure 4 A section of a module in

[0017] Figure 6 shows the flow of good quality segments and the corresponding sensor signal waveforms, and

[0018] Figure 7 A flow including a segment of poor quality and the waveform of the corresponding sensor signal are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Figure 1The production machine 1 shown in is used for producing multi-segment filter rods R. The production machine 1 comprises a feed section 2 and a forming section 3. The feed section 2 comprises feed modules 2A, 2B, 2C, whereby semi-finished products in the form of filter rods 10A, 10B, 10C are supplied to the feed modules 2A, 2B, 2C of the feed section 2. The filter rods 10A, 10B, 10C are cut into segments A, B, C in individual modules, whereby the rods 10A, 10B, 10C have a length which is a multiple of the length of the segments A, B, C. The segments A, B, C are fed to the forming section 3, whereby these segments are used to form a continuous multi-segment filter rod CR, which is cut into individual multi-segment filter rods R. The feed section 2 of the machine 1 is provided with a group conveyor 5, which is designed to convey the segments A, B, C in a predetermined sequence. Between the infeed section 2 and the forming section 3 there is a transfer module 4 which transfers the segments A, B, C from the infeed section 2 and keeps them in order. The rod-shaped articles A, B, C are transferred to the forming section 3 and are placed onto a strip of packaging material 6 conveyed on a conveyor 7 and are wrapped into a strip of packaging material 6 in a forming unit 8. The continuous rod CR is cut into individual multi-segment filter rods R by a cutting head 9.

[0020] Figure 2 A rod 10C is shown with a length of four sections C. The rod 10C has 4 beads 11 and is cut into four sections C in the feed module 2C so that one bead 11 is placed in each section C. In practice, the rod can be provided with any kind of object with a variety of shapes, satisfying a variety of functions, and the rod can be cut into any number of sections so that one or more objects are placed in one section. In one section, there can be different objects. The rod 10C is first cut in a plane k, which is perpendicular to the axis X of the rod 10C, and then cut in a plane m and a plane n parallel to the plane k.

[0021] The feed module 2C comprises a hopper 12 ( Figure 4 ). Below the hopper 12, there is a cutting and conveying unit 13, which includes a multi-grooved cutting drum 14, to which a circular knife unit 18 is located. The feed unit 2C includes a transfer unit 15 located directly below the cutting drum 14 and adapted to convey a flow SF of segments C. The filter rods 10C are placed in the grooves of the roller conveyor 14, and the segments C formed after cutting are received by the transfer unit 15 from the continuous grooves of the roller conveyor 14 as a group G of segments C. In the transfer unit 15, a flow SF of segments C ( Figure 5). The segments C are transferred along a substantially horizontal channel 16 and the segments C are transferred in groups G by lugs 17 attached to a chain 19, with gaps U remaining between the groups G in the flow SF. The gaps U must be retained due to the need to receive the groups G from the separate grooves of the cutting drum 14 and due to the need to push the groups G by the lugs 17. In the embodiment shown, the segments C are also transferred by a transfer drum 20, which is provided with a spiral element 21 located on the side surface 22 of the transfer drum 20, which pushes the segments C during the rotation of the transfer drum 20. The distance S ( Figure 4 ) is variable and decreases in the direction of movement of the segments C in the flow SF, to the right in the figure, towards the outlet 23 of the transfer unit 15. Moreover, the thickness of the spiral element decreases in the direction of movement of the segments C. By using a transfer drum 20 provided with spiral elements 21 in the flow of the segments C, the gaps U between the groups G are eliminated. The segments C of the continuous flow SF (without gaps between the segments C) are transferred directly or via a separation unit 24 to a positioning unit 25, which comprises a positioning disc 27 with lugs 29 arranged on the circumference of the positioning disc 27. The separation unit 24 comprises a rotatable cam 28 for moving the segments C from the groups G. Figure 3 1 . In the region of the outlet 23 of the transfer unit 15, there is a sensor 26, which may be an optical sensor, an electromagnetic sensor, a microwave sensor, an X-ray sensor or another sensor, for checking the quality of the segment taking into account the quality of the items placed inside the segment. The sensor 26 may be adapted to check at least one feature of a group of features, the group of features comprising: the presence of an object 11, the quality of the object 11 (e.g. the shape or the filling of the object 11 with aromatic substances), the position of the object 11 in the longitudinal direction in the segment C (e.g. the central position of the segment C between the end surfaces), the quality of the segment C (e.g. the fiber density or the filling defects of the segment C with the filter material).

[0022] The basic parameters for the quality of the embodiment segment C are firstly the presence of an object 11 in the segment C and the mass of this object. Figure 6 Segments C in a moving flow SF are shown, and the variation of the signal S generated for such a flow through the sensor 26, in the case where the segments C in the flow SF are correctly manufactured and each segment contains a bead. All segments C shown are of good quality and, moreover, the beads are arranged at equal distances from the end surface of the segments, i.e. the distance a is equal to the distance b. As far as the beads are concerned, the basic quality parameter is the filling of the beads with the aroma substance, and also the size of the beads is taken into account. Both the filling of the beads with the aroma substance and the size of the beads can be checked by measuring the amount of aroma substance. Figure 7 shows a flow SF in which the object 11' is too small (compare Figure 6 , signal S1 is weakened), the object 11' is not positioned at an equal distance from the end of the segment, i.e., the distance a and the distance b are different, and furthermore, the object 11" is not correctly filled with the fragrance substance (signal S2 is weakened and displaced), and the segment C' does not have any object inside (signal S3 shows the absence of the object). In the flow SF, the correctness of the filling of the filter material into the segment C can be analyzed by both the sensor 26 and the additional sensor 30 adjacent to the sensor 26 ( Figure 3 ).

[0023] The storage container 12 together with the cutting and conveying unit 13 comprising the cutting drum 14 and the circular knife 18 and the transfer unit 15 constitute a feeding device for feeding the flow of segments C to the separation device 24 or to any other device requiring a flow of segments.

[0024] The task of the separation unit 24 is to separate one segment C from the flow SF of segments C. The storage container 12, together with the cutting and conveying unit 13 comprising the cutting drum 14 and the circular knife 18, the transfer unit 15 and the separation device 24 constitute an apparatus for feeding the segments C to the positioning unit 25 or to any other apparatus requiring the feeding of individual segments.

[0025] The task of the positioning unit 25 is to place the segments C onto the group conveyor 5. The storage container 12, the cutting and conveying unit 13 comprising the cutting drum 14 and the circular knife 18, the transfer unit 15, the separating device 24 and the positioning device 25 together form an apparatus for feeding the segments C to the group conveyor 5 or to any other apparatus requiring the feeding of individual segments.

[0026] If a defect of a segment C is detected, in particular a defect of an object placed in the segment C, the produced multi-segment filter rod R containing this segment is rejected, and such rejection can only take place after the production machine 1.

Claims

1. A feeding device for feeding tobacco industry segments (C), comprising: a hopper (12) for a rod (10C) the length of which is a multiple of the length of the segment (C), a cutting and conveying unit (13) located below the hopper (12) for the rods (10C) for cutting the rods (10C) into individual segments (C) and starting from the rods (10C), after cutting the rods (10C), forming groups (G) of segments (C), a transfer unit (15) located below the cutting and conveying unit (13), adapted to receive the groups (G) of segments (C) and to form them into a stream (SF) of segments (C), with gaps (U) remaining between the groups (G) of segments (C) in the stream (SF), and adapted to reduce the gaps (U) between the groups (G) so that at the outlet (23) of the transfer unit (15) the segments (C) are conveyed without gaps, It is characterized in that The feeding device is provided with a sensor (26) located in the area of ​​the outlet (23) of the transfer unit (15), and the sensor (26) is suitable for checking at least one segment (C) parameter from a group of parameters including: the presence of an object (11) in the segment (C), the mass of the object (11) located in the segment (C), the position of the object (11) in the segment (C), the mass of the segment (C), The transfer unit (15) is provided with a transfer roller (20), which is suitable for reducing the gap (U) between the groups (G), and a spiral element (21) is provided on its side surface (22), and the distance (S) between adjacent coils of the spiral element (21) in a direction parallel to the axis (t) of the transfer roller (20) decreases in the direction toward the outlet (23) of the transfer unit (15).

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The sensor (26) is a microwave sensor.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The sensor (26) is an optical sensor.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The sensor (26) is an X-ray sensor.

5. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The feeding device is provided with a separation unit (24) for separating individual segments (C) from a flow (SF) of segments (C) and comprises a rotatable cam (28) for pushing the segments (C) out of the flow (SF).

6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The feeding device is provided with a positioning unit (25) for placing the segment (C) on a conveyor (5) suitable for conveying a series of segments (A, B, C), and the positioning unit (25) comprises a positioning disc (27).

Images