Feeding device and method for automatically feeding casings for smoking articles

Abstract

Feeding device and method for automatically feeding casings for smoking articles. The device (10) comprises a feeding unit (12) arranged in a position above a conveying member (211) and configured to temporarily support the casings before they are fed to the underlying conveying member (211), and a transport unit (13) interposed between the feeding unit (12) and the conveying member (211) to selectively pick up the casings (100) from the feeding unit (12) and send them to the conveying member (211).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a feeding device and method for automatically feeding, for example, empty shells for tobacco products (such as cigarettes) from a feeding member toward a conveying member of a machine, wherein the shells can be positioned, preferably stacked in a pile or more, either manually or by means of an automated member, the machine being configured to fill the shells and complete the production of the tobacco product. Background Technology

[0002] As is well known, one of the important aspects to consider and the technical problems to overcome in the automated production of tobacco products such as cigarettes (especially using machines with high productivity) is feeding the containment material, which may be in the form of a housing including a filter, to one or more workstations. The containment material is typically very thin paper or other suitable material. The workstations are, for example, filling stations, where smoking material is deposited or inserted into the containment material, such as loose material like tobacco, other flammable smokeable substances, or combinations thereof. Packaging stations, dispensing stations, and possibly stations for packaging tobacco products can also be associated with filling stations.

[0003] Regarding the technical issue of feeding the containing material, it is known to pre-set a paper strip on which the aforementioned loose material is placed. The paper strip is then wound to form a single tubular shell containing the loose material, and then cut into the desired shape to obtain a single tobacco product.

[0004] However, this known technology does not allow for the automated packaging of certain types of tobacco products, such as those that also contain leaf materials other than tobacco, which have various properties that are primarily, but not solely, related to the chemical-physical properties of these materials.

[0005] An example of a machine configured to fill and close a hollow container for tobacco articles is described in U.S. Patent document US 4,782,644. Specifically, these hollow containers are configured to contain a material in particulate form suitable for generating an aerosol and a flammable element serving as a closing insert. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Therefore, in the prior art, there is a need for a feeding device and method to automatically feed pre-packaged tobacco product casings, which are then completed at other workstations of an automated machine designed to achieve high productivity, i.e., producing more than 7,000 tobacco products per hour, for example.

[0007] Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a feeding device and an improved feeding method for automatically feeding the casing of tobacco products, which is simple and reliable and, at the same time, allows for a high level of productivity by solving the aforementioned technical problems, as described above.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a feeding device and to improve a feeding method for automatically feeding casings for tobacco products, wherein individual casings that may be stacked together with other casings can be transported to a conveying member by gravity.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a feeding device and to improve a feeding method for automatically feeding housings for tobacco products, wherein the housings can be fed serially or in parallel so as to feed several housings to the same conveying member simultaneously.

[0010] The applicant has designed, tested and implemented the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to obtain these and other objectives and advantages.

[0011] The invention is set forth and characterized in the independent claims, while the dependent claims describe other features of the invention or variations of the main inventive concept.

[0012] In accordance with the aforementioned objectives, and in order to solve the technical problem in a novel and original manner and achieve surprisingly positive results, the feeding device according to the invention is configured to automatically feed a housing for forming a tobacco article toward at least one conveying member having more than one first support aligned along a substantially horizontal conveying axis and configured to each receive one of the aforementioned housings. The housings are hollow and stackable, such that one housing is partially inserted into another, thereby forming a stack of housings.

[0013] According to one aspect of the invention, the apparatus includes at least a feeding device disposed above the at least one conveying member and configured to temporarily support the stack of housings, particularly before they are transported downwards to the at least one first support of the at least one conveying member, and a transport device inserted between the feeding device and the at least one conveying member and configured to selectively transport the housings from the feeding device to the at least one first support of the at least one conveying member one after another.

[0014] According to another aspect of the invention, each of the aforementioned stacks includes at least a first housing located at the lower end of the respective stack, and at least a second housing partially inserted into the first housing from above; furthermore, the aforementioned transport device includes first stop devices configured to move between an interference position and a non-interference position, in which, for each of the stacks, they cooperate with the aforementioned first housing to temporarily stop the descent of the first housing, and in the non-interference position, they release the first housing so that it can be released into one of the more than one first supports of the conveying member. The first stop devices are disposed at a first defined intermediate position between the aforementioned feeding device and the aforementioned at least one conveying member.

[0015] According to another aspect of the invention, the transport device further includes a second stop device disposed between the aforementioned feeding device and the aforementioned first stop device, and configured to move between an engaged position and a non-engaged position. In the engaged position, for each of the stacks, they engage with the second housing closest to the first housing so that, for each stack, at least when the first stop device is in the non-interference position, the housing above the first housing is temporarily stopped. In the non-engaged position, only when the first stop device is in the interference position, they release the second housing closest to the first housing so that it falls onto the first stop device. When the second housing reaches the first stop device, the second housing falling by the second stop device becomes a new first housing. This configuration advantageously allows the first housing to be unloaded from the second housing and the remaining housings in the same stack for individual feeding to the corresponding lower support of the transport member.

[0016] According to another aspect of the invention, the transport device further includes a first actuation device and a second actuation device, the first actuation device being configured to selectively move the first stop device between the interference position and the non-interference position, in the interference position, the first stop device interfering with the descent of the stack of the housings, and in the non-interference position, the first stop device being in a retracted position, the retracted position being outside the travel of the first housing toward the at least one conveying member; the second actuation devices being configured to selectively actuate the second stop device between the engagement position and the non-engagement position, in the engagement position, they selectively blocking the second housing closest to the first housing to prevent the housing above it from falling, and in the non-engagement position, they allow the second housing to descend toward the first stop device.

[0017] According to another aspect of the invention, the transport device further includes a clamping device configured to clamp the first housing from the first stop device for each of the stacks, so as to bring the clamped first housing to the vicinity of the transport member, thereby releasing it into a corresponding one of the more than one first supports of the transport member.

[0018] According to another aspect of the invention, the first clamping device is movable along a first straight line segment located on a vertical plane between a first raised position and a second lowered position, the first raised position being the position when the first clamping device clamps the first housing, and the second lowered position being the position where the first clamping device brings the clamped first housing to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member.

[0019] According to another aspect of the invention, the clamping device is configured to clamp the first housing in the first raised position when the first stop is in the interference position, and to move to the second lowered position when the first stop is in the non-interference position to bring the clamped first housing to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member.

[0020] According to another aspect of the invention, the feeding device includes a rotating member rotatably mounted to rotate about a substantially vertical axis of rotation and having a plurality of second supports parallel to the axis of rotation, each second support configured to receive one of the aforementioned stacks of the housing; furthermore, the rotating member is configured to perform incremental rotation, each incremental rotation having a defined angle to selectively align the row of the plurality of second supports arranged along a radial segment of the rotating member perpendicularly with the transport device, and thus perpendicularly with one or more of the aforementioned first supports of the at least one conveying member.

[0021] According to another aspect of the invention, the second stop device and the clamping device each include at least one clamp with a pair of jaws configured to selectively open and close on the housing.

[0022] According to another aspect of the invention, the device further includes a detection device located between the lower part of the feeding device and the upper part of the transport device, for detecting at least one of the aforementioned housings that may be present between the feeding device and the transport device.

[0023] According to another aspect of the invention, the detection device is configured to detect a possible lack of shells relative to a determined preset number in each stack. The device further includes an electronic control unit configured to control the second stop devices in response to a signal from the detection device, such that they selectively maintain stacks with fewer shells than the determined preset number, thereby suppressing movement of the second stop devices in the non-engaged position at least until the electronic control unit receives a signal from the detection device corresponding to a detected shell number at least equal to the determined preset number.

[0024] According to another aspect of the invention, the aforementioned feeding device includes a closing disc configured to alternately present a closed position and an operating position to prevent or allow a stack of housings to descend from the feeding device toward the transport device, respectively. More specifically, the closing disc is configured to selectively close the plurality of second supports and release only the second supports positioned along a row arranged along a radial segment perpendicularly aligned with the transport device, so as to allow only the stack of housings located in the second supports not closed by the closing disc to descend.

[0025] According to another aspect of the invention, the rotating member includes an upper plate and a lower plate arranged coaxially and opposite to each other, with a plurality of tubular elements inserted therebetween and communicating with the plurality of second supports; the tubular elements are arranged parallel to the axis of rotation.

[0026] According to another aspect of the invention, the first stop device includes a comb-shaped plate that is movable along a second straight segment located on a horizontal plane when it moves between the interference position and the non-interference position.

[0027] According to another aspect of the invention, the distance between the first stop device and the second stop device along the vertical axis remains fixed and is slightly greater than the length of the housing.

[0028] According to another aspect of the invention, a feeding method for automatically feeding a housing for a tobacco product toward at least one conveying member having more than one first support aligned along a substantially horizontal conveying axis and configured to each receive one of the aforementioned housings, wherein the housings are hollow and stackable so that one housing is partially inserted into another housing, thereby forming a stack of housings.

[0029] The method includes at least one feeding step, wherein a feeding device positioned above the at least one conveying member feeds the stack of housings to a transport device inserted between the feeding device and the at least one conveying member, and a transport step, wherein the transport device selectively transports the housings one by one to one or more first supports of the at least one conveying member.

[0030] According to another aspect of the invention, the feeding method is configured such that, in the above-described transport step, it includes first stop devices in the transport device, disposed between the feeding device and the at least one conveying member, moving between an interference position and a non-interference position, wherein, for each of the stacks, they cooperate with the first housing to temporarily stop the descent of the first housing, and in the non-interference position, they release the first housing such that the released first housing is released into one of the more than one first supports of the conveying member.

[0031] According to another aspect of the invention, the feeding method is configured such that, in the aforementioned transport step, a second stop device is included in the transport device, disposed between the feeding device and the first stop device, and moves between an engaged position and a non-engaged position. In the engaged position, for each stack, they engage with the second housing closest to the first housing. For each stack, at least when the first stop device is in the non-interference position, the descent of the housing above the first housing is temporarily stopped. In the non-engaged position, only when the first stop device is in the interference position, the second stop device releases the second housing closest to the first housing, allowing it to fall onto the first stop device. When the second housing reaches the first stop device, the second housing that has fallen from the second stop device becomes the new first housing.

[0032] According to another aspect of the invention, the feeding method is configured such that, in the aforementioned transport step, for each of the aforementioned stacks, the clamping device of the transport apparatus clamps the first housing from the first stop device and brings it to the vicinity of the transport member to release it into a corresponding one of the aforementioned one or more first supports of the transport member. Specifically, the clamping device brings the clamped first housing from a first raised position away from the at least one transport member to a second lowered position near the at least one transport member.

[0033] According to another aspect of the invention, when the clamping device clamps the first housing, the first stop device is in the interference position, while on the other hand, when the clamping device brings the clamped first housing to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member, the first stop device is in the non-interference position.

[0034] According to another aspect of the invention, the feeding method is configured such that, in the feeding step, the rotating member of the feeding device is mounted to be rotatable about a substantially vertical axis of rotation and is provided with a plurality of second supports, one or more of the housings being received in one or more of the second supports, the housings being organized to form the stack, and the rotating member performs incremental rotation, each incremental rotation having a defined angle to selectively align the rows of the plurality of second supports arranged along the radial segment of the rotating member perpendicularly with the transport device.

[0035] According to another aspect of the invention, the feeding method further includes a control step in which a detection device located between the feeding device and the transport device detects a possible shortage of more than one of the aforementioned shells in each stack relative to a determined preset number of shells, and wherein an electronic control unit, in response to a signal emitted by the detection device, controls the aforementioned second stop devices such that they selectively maintain stacks with fewer than a determined preset number of shells, thereby suppressing movement of the second stop devices in a non-engaged position at least until the electronic control unit receives from the detection device a signal corresponding to the detected number of shells at least equal to the determined preset number. Attached Figure Description

[0036] These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of some embodiments given by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0037] - Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional view that schematically and exemplaryly illustrates a feeding device according to the invention for feeding a casing for a tobacco product.

[0038] - Figure 2 It includes Figure 1 The device in or can be with Figure 1 A block diagram of the machine associated with the device in the diagram;

[0039] - Figure 3 It is suitable for being by Figure 1 A schematic side view of the housing fed by the device;

[0040] - Figure 4 It is suitable for being by Figure 1 A schematic side view of the stack of housings fed by the device;

[0041] - Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Partial sectional view and schematic front view of the device;

[0042] - Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Magnified details;

[0043] - Figure 7 yes Figure 1 An enlarged bottom view of part of the device;

[0044] - Figure 8 This is a schematic and simplified side view that shows Figure 1 The device is in one of its operating states;

[0045] - Figure 9 yes Figure 8 Magnified details;

[0046] - Figure 10 yes Figure 1 A schematic and simplified plan view of the components of the device;

[0047] - Figure 11 According to the variant embodiment Figure 1 Three-dimensional views of the components of the device;

[0048] - Figure 12 yes Figure 1 An exemplary block diagram of the function of the electronic control unit of the device.

[0049] It must be noted that the terms used in this specification and claims, such as “vertical,” “lower,” “upper,” “top,” and “bottom,” and their inclinations, serve only to better illustrate the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, and should in no way be used to limit the scope of the invention itself or the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.

[0050] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that certain dimensions or features in the accompanying drawings may have been enlarged, distorted, or shown in an unconventional or non-proportional manner to provide a more easily understood version of the invention. When dimensions and / or values ​​are specified in the following description, these dimensions and / or values ​​are provided for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention unless such dimensions and / or values ​​appear in the appended claims.

[0051] For ease of understanding, the same reference numerals are used to identify the same common elements in the figures where possible. It should be understood that elements and features of one embodiment can be readily combined or incorporated into other embodiments without further explanation. Detailed Implementation

[0052] Reference Figure 1 According to the invention, a housing 100 for feeding tobacco products ( Figure 3 The feeding device 10 is configured to work with the machine 200 used for producing tobacco products such as cigarettes. Figure 2 It is associated with or is part of the machine.

[0053] Machine 200 is shown in Figure 2The block diagram includes, for example,: a filling station 201 configured to fill the housing 100 with a smoking product, such as a loose material like tobacco, other flammable and smokeable substances, or combinations thereof; a packaging station 202 configured to package the filled housings 100, for example, by adequately closing them; and a distribution station 203, for example for transporting the tobacco products to a packing station 204, which may be outside the machine 200, but is not limited thereto. The machine 200 may also include a suitable conveying device 205 configured to adequately convey the housings 100 and the finished tobacco products from the device 10 to the distribution station 203 in a coordinated manner.

[0054] At least the filling station 201, packaging station 202, dispensing station 203 and conveying device 205 can be any known type, or a type to be developed in the future, or, for example, those types described in related patent applications for industrial inventions filed or assigned to the applicant of this patent application.

[0055] For example, the conveying device 205 includes a conveying component 211 ( Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 5 and Figure 8 The conveyor 211 has the shape and function of a shuttle and is configured to slide along a conveying axis X (e.g., horizontally). In the example provided here, the conveying member 211 includes four hollow supports 212, each having a truncated conical shape whose dimensions match those of the housing 100 or at least its lower portion. Obviously, the number of supports 212 may also be different from four.

[0056] Each support 212 is symmetrical about the substantially vertical axis Y and is configured to accommodate a housing 100 that can be inserted from the top to the bottom. Figure 8 and Figure 9 As an indication, in the example provided here, the axes of the four supports 212 are indicated by Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4 respectively. Figure 5 and Figure 6 ).

[0057] The distance D between two adjacent supports 212 is defined during the design phase of the device 10 and / or machine 200 and is suitable for the management of multiple housings 100, which will be described in detail below.

[0058] Before describing the device 10 and its functions in detail, we will now describe an example of the housing 100. Figure 3 ).

[0059] Each housing 100 is made of a sheet material, such as very thin paper, or other material suitable for manufacturing cigarettes or other flammable smoking products, and is typically provided with a filter 102 of a known type.

[0060] The housing 100 has a length L, which can vary depending on the tobacco product to be obtained, and includes, for example, between about 50 mm and about 150 mm, preferably between about 70 mm and about 120 mm.

[0061] Furthermore, each housing 100 has a shape that allows it to be easily stacked to form a vertical stack 101 together with other housings 100. For example, each housing 100 may have a truncated conical shape and include a first end 103 corresponding to the filter tip 102 and a second open end 104 opposite to the first end 103, into which another housing 100 can be inserted. Thus, the diameter of the first end 103 is smaller than the diameter of the second end 104.

[0062] In the example provided here, each heap 101 ( Figure 4 This includes a defined number of housings 100, for example, between 2 and 20.

[0063] To better understand the device 10 and its function (which will be described later), the housing 100 located at the bottom of the stack 101 is defined here as the first housing 100A, and the housing inserted therein is defined as the second housing 100B, and so on until the last housing, so that the last housing is the topmost one in the stack 101.

[0064] Device 10 ( Figure 5 and Figure 8 The system includes a support structure 11 on which a feed unit 12 is mounted. The feed unit 12 is positioned above the conveying member 211 and is configured to temporarily and orderly accommodate and support multiple stacks 101.

[0065] Between the feed unit 12 and the conveying member 211 is a transport unit 13 configured to transport one housing 100 at a time from each of the stacks 101 present in the feed unit 12 and automatically insert it into the corresponding support 212 of the support member 211, as will be described in detail below.

[0066] The support structure 11 includes a generally horizontal plate 15, which is positioned at a fixed location at a defined distance from the conveying member 211.

[0067] The feed unit 12 is mounted above the plate 15 and includes a rotating member 16, which is essentially in the form of a carousel, has a substantially cylindrical volume, and is capable of rotating relative to the plate 15 about a substantially vertical axis of rotation Z in a rotational direction S (clockwise or counterclockwise).

[0068] The rotating member 16 includes a central hub 17 coaxial with the axis of rotation Z, and an upper plate 19 and a lower plate 20 are attached perpendicularly to the central hub 17, so that the upper plate 19 and the lower plate 20 are parallel to each other.

[0069] The upper plate 19 is provided with a plurality of first through holes 21, the centers of which are located on four circumferences concentric with the axis of rotation Z, and are arranged radially aligned in rows along a plurality of radial segments. The distance between two adjacent circumferences containing a through hole 21 is equal to the distance D between two supports 212 of the conveying member 211. In this way, the through holes 21 are divided into groups of four, that is, the same number as the supports 212.

[0070] The angle α between the two groups of four adjacent through holes 21 Figure 1 The angle 21 is an integer multiple of 360°, and in the example shown here it is 20° because there are eighteen sets of four through holes 21, but the invention is not limited thereto. In fact, other embodiments of the invention not shown in the figures may provide different arrangements and different numbers of through holes 21, as their positions and numbers are sufficient to relate to the positions and numbers of the supports 212 of the conveying member 211.

[0071] Lower half 20 ( Figure 5 and Figure 6 It is provided with a plurality of second through holes 22, which are precisely corresponding to a plurality of first through holes 21.

[0072] An equal number of tubular elements 23 are attached between the upper plate 19 and the lower plate 20, and correspond to two plurality of through holes 21 and 22, and are parallel to the axis of rotation Z, and are configured to each accommodate a stack 101 of housing 100 to guide housing 100 toward the conveying member 211 below, as will be described in detail below.

[0073] The feed unit 12 also includes a shut-off disk 24. Figures 5 to 8 The closing disk 24 is configured to selectively separate the feed unit 12, i.e., the rotating member 16, from the plate 15.

[0074] The closing disc 24 is associated with the rotating member 16 so as to be coaxially arranged relative to the center hub 17 and located below the lower disc 20.

[0075] The closing plate 24 is provided with multiple holes 25 whose shape, size, and number are identical to the multiple second through holes 22 of the lower plate 20. Figure 7 It may have a slightly larger size than through hole 22.

[0076] The feed unit 12 includes a control knob 58, which, for example, protrudes above the upper plate 19 and is connected to the closing plate 24 by a suitable mechanical connection of a type known in itself and not described in detail. The mechanical connection may include, for example, a shaft that operably connects the control knob 58 to the closing plate 24 by one or more connecting members of a known type.

[0077] The control knob 58, configured to be manually rotated by the operator, allows the closing disc 24 to alternately enter the closed or operating position by rotating it by a defined angle about the rotation axis Z, for example, by rotating it by an angle approximately equal to half the angle α.

[0078] In the closed position, the closing disc 24 prevents the stack 101 of the housing 100 from descending from the tubular element 23 toward the transport unit 13 below, while in the operating position, it allows the stack 101 of the housing 100 to descend.

[0079] In the operating position (by Figure 7 (Indicated by the dashed lines in the diagram), the hole 25 is aligned with the plurality of second through holes 22, and therefore with respect to the tubular element 23, and allows the stack 101 of the housing 100 to pass through. Conversely, in the closed position (in...) Figure 7 (Shown in solid line) The position of hole 25 is offset at an angle relative to the position of through hole 22, thereby preventing the stack 101 from descending.

[0080] For example, the presence of the closing disc 24 allows the rotating member 16 to be removed from the plate 15 when the housing 100 contained therein is completed, or when maintenance or cleaning operations are required. The rotating member 16 can be replaced by another rotating member 16 that is structurally and functionally identical, whose tubular elements 23 have been pre-filled with multiple stacks 101 of the housing 100, such as... Figure 8 The filling is shown schematically. This filling can be carried out at a filling station not shown, or manually by an operator, or automatically or semi-automatically with the aid of one or more specialized devices.

[0081] When it is necessary to replace rotating component 16 with another rotating component, the operator places the closing disc 24 of both rotating components 16 in the closed position so that rotating component 16 can be moved without causing the stack 101 of housing 100 to protrude from below under tubular element 23.

[0082] The plate 15 is provided with four through holes 26 at a defined angular position, that is, corresponding to the support 212 of the conveying member 211, which are coaxial with the axes Y1 to Y4 of the support 212, so that the four stacks 101 of the housing 100 can be guided freely through them by the four corresponding first tubular guide elements 23.

[0083] Alternatively, instead of the four through holes 26 on the plate 15, a single slot can be made, with a width equal to the diameter of one of the through holes 26 and a length suitable to allow four stacks 101 to pass through simultaneously.

[0084] The feed unit 12 also includes a first electric motor 27 of a known type. Figure 5 The first motor 27 is located below the plate 15 and is connected to the rotating member 16 via a drive belt 28 and two pulleys 29 and 30. One pulley is connected to the shaft of the motor 27, and the other is connected to the central hub 17. The first motor 27 is preferably configured to rotate the rotating member 16 in angular increments equal to the aforementioned angle α (i.e., stepwise).

[0085] According to one variation, the first motor 27 can continuously rotate the rotating member 16 at a defined angular velocity, such as aligning each set of four through holes 21 and 22 with the four through holes 26 at desired timing. However, considering that continuous rotation of the rotating member 16 at speeds exceeding a certain threshold would result in shearing of the housing 100 during the loading step, it is more advantageous and preferred that the rotating member 16 rotates in angular increments.

[0086] According to the embodiment of the invention shown here, the transport unit 13 includes four identical pickup devices 31, each pickup device 31 being disposed below one of the through holes 26, that is, aligned with axes Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4, and configured to receive a stack 101 of housings 100, and to vertically feed one housing 100 at a time toward the downward conveying member 211, inserting it into one of the supports 212, which will be described in detail below.

[0087] Each pickup device 31 includes a first clamping member 33 and a second clamping member 35 that are perpendicularly aligned with each other. Each clamping member includes a clamp having a pair of jaws 36, 37, which are configured to be selectively opened and closed by respective actuators 38, 39. The actuators 38, 39 can be of any known type and are therefore not described in detail here.

[0088] As can be clearly seen from the detailed description of the function of the device 10, the first clamping member 33 is configured as a second stop device, which is configured to move between an engaged position and a non-engaged position. In the engaged position, for each stack 101, the first clamping member 33 engages with the second housing 100B to temporarily stop the fall of the housing above the first housing 100A. In the non-engaged position, the first clamping member 33 releases the second housing 100B to allow it to fall. In the example described here, when the first clamping member 33 is in the engaged position, a pair of jaws 36 constituting the clamp forming the clamping member are in a closed position to hold the second housing 100B and the entire stack of housings 100 above it. When the first clamping member 33 is in the non-engaged position, the pair of jaws 36 are in an open position.

[0089] In particular, all four first clamping members 33 ( Figure 4 , Figure 8 and Figure 9 It is installed on the first vertical plate 40 of the support structure 11 and is set at a certain distance H1 from the fixed plate 15, which is preferably greater than the length L of each housing 100, but not limited thereto, and is permanently held in that position.

[0090] Conversely, all four second clamping members 35 are configured as clamping devices for the first housing 100A to move together in two directions (i.e., up and down) along the respective vertical axes Y1, Y2, Y3 or Y4, preferably via a single moving device 41 shared by all four pickup devices 31, from an elevated position P1 to a lowered position P2. In the elevated position P1, the associated jaws 37 open and can be selectively closed to clamp the housing 100. In the lowered position P2, very close to the transfer member 211, the associated jaws 37 reopen to release the housing 100, allowing the housing 100 to fall into the lower support 212 of the transfer member 211 under gravity.

[0091] The distance H2 between the raised position P1 of the first clamping member 33 and the corresponding second clamping member 35 is substantially equal to or greater than the length L of each housing 100, while the travel C between the raised position P1 and the lowered position P2 is advantageously greater than the length L of each housing 100.

[0092] A second tubular guide element 42 is positioned between each through hole 26 of the fixing plate 15 and each first clamping member 33. The second tubular guide element 42 is attached to the same fixing plate 15 and has the function of guiding the respective stack 101 during the descent of the respective stack 101 from the rotating member 16 to the respective clamping member 33.

[0093] Sensor 43 ( Figure 6Associated with each of the second tubular guide elements 42, near the fixing plate 15, and used as a detection device, the detection device being configured to detect a predetermined number of possible missing units of housing 100 relative to the housing.

[0094] In addition, a third tubular guide element 44 is provided between each of the first clamping members 33 and the corresponding second clamping members 35. The third tubular guide element 44 is supported by the horizontal plate 45 of the support structure 11 and has the function of guiding the stack 101 during the descent of the stack 101 from the associated first clamping member 33 to the associated second clamping member 35.

[0095] The moving device 41 includes a slider 46 connected to a group of four second clamping members 35 and guided by a second vertical plate 47 of the support structure 11, which slides vertically together with them.

[0096] A second motor 49 of a known type is mounted on a second vertical plate 47 and connected to a slider 46 via a transmission member of a known type (not shown) to selectively move the slider between an elevated position corresponding to an elevated position P1 and a lowered position corresponding to a lowered position P2, and vice versa.

[0097] The transport unit 13 also includes a stop element 50 ( Figure 9 and Figure 10 The stop element 50 is preferably horizontally positioned directly below the second clamping member 35 and is configured to selectively stop the stack 101 of the housing 100.

[0098] As can be clearly seen from the following detailed description of the function of the device 10, the stop element 50 is configured as a first stop device to stop the descent of the first housing 100A, and cooperates with the second stop device (i.e., the first clamping member 33), which intervenes in a coordinated manner to stop the descent of the second housing 100B and the entire stack 101 of the housing 100 above it.

[0099] Specifically, the stop element 50 consists of a comb-shaped plate with four teeth 51 precisely corresponding to the vertical axes Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4.

[0100] The teeth 51 are relatively narrow, so that there is enough space between them to allow the passage of the jaws 37 of the second clamping member 35 when the jaws 37 of the second clamping member 35 open and the second clamping member 35 rises from the lowered position P2 to the raised position P1.

[0101] Specifically, the distance H3 between the upper part of the tooth 51 of the stop element 50 and the lower part of the jaw 36 of the first clamping member 33 is... Figure 4 and Figure 9It is slightly larger than the length L of each shell 100.

[0102] Stopping element 50 ( Figure 5 The stop element 50 is slidably mounted relative to the support structure 11 between an interference position and a non-interference position. In the interference position, the teeth 51 of the stop element 50 are positioned corresponding to the vertical axes Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 to stop the descent of the stack 101. In the non-interference position, the teeth 51 retract, thus extending beyond the travel of the housing 100 toward the conveying member 211. The selective movement of the stop element 50 is controlled by an actuator 52 of a known type.

[0103] According to a variant embodiment, such as Figure 11 As shown, each jaw 37 of the second clamping member 35 includes a support arm 53, and a receiving element 54 is disposed at the end of the support arm 53. The receiving element 54 protrudes from the support arm 53 into the other jaw 37. In a preferred embodiment, one receiving element 54 is disposed above the support arm 53 of the jaw 37, while the other receiving element 54 is disposed below the corresponding support arm 53 of the other jaw 37.

[0104] Each receiving element 54 includes a shaped portion 55, such as V-shaped, inclined, and at least partially matched to the shape of the housing 100.

[0105] The shaped portions 55 of the two jaws 37 engage with each other to form a housing support 56 for the housing 100. Preferably, corresponding to the housing support 56 on each support arm 53, there is a generally cylindrical or truncated conical niche 59 that engages with the outer surface of the region near the first end 103 of the housing 100. The arrangement of the receiving elements 54 and the construction of their shaped portions 55 allow for limiting possible lateral movement or undesirable tilting of the housing 100 relative to the axis Y, which could impair the proper closure of the jaws 37 to hold the first housing 100A, thereby giving the second clamping member 35 greater reliability without damaging the housing 100.

[0106] In another variant embodiment, the jaws 36 of the first clamping member 33 can also be similar to those according to... Figure 11 The jaws 37 described above in the variant embodiment shown.

[0107] In another embodiment of the invention, without the use of a second clamping member 35, the stop element 50 can be used as a first stop member or device, against which the first housing 100A of the stack 101 is stopped, while each of the first clamping members 33 can selectively be used as a second stop member or device to temporarily stop at least the second housing 100B and other housings 100 above it for each stack 101. In this case, when the corresponding first clamping member 33 is in the blocking position, actuation of the stop element 50 will cause the first housing 100A of the stack 101 to fall directly into the lower support 212 of the conveying member 211 due to gravity. The distance H3 between the upper part of the teeth 51 of the stop element 50 and the lower part of the jaws 36 of the first clamping member 33 is... Figure 4 It is slightly larger than the length L of each shell 100.

[0108] Device 10 also includes, for example, a programmable electronic control unit 57. Figure 12 It is configured to control the first motor 27, the second motor 49, and actuators 38, 39, and 52. Sensor 43 is also electrically connected to the electronic control unit 57.

[0109] The previously described device 10 functions according to the method of the present invention, including the following steps.

[0110] In the initial or static state, the feed unit 12 is stationary, the second clamping members 35 are in their raised position P1, the jaws 36 and 37 of the clamping members 33 and 35 are open, and the stop element 50 is in its interference position, that is, its teeth 51 interfere with the axes Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4.

[0111] Furthermore, the conveying component 211 is in its loading position, its support 212 is precisely coaxial with axes Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, and is ready to receive four housings 100, each housing coming from stack 101.

[0112] In the first step, multiple stacks 101 of the housing 100 are loaded into the first tubular guide element 23 of the rotating member 16 through multiple first through holes 21.

[0113] All loaded stacks 101 will bring their first housing 100A, i.e., the lowest one, into contact with the closing disc 24 positioned below in the closed position. This step can be performed manually or automatically (e.g., by a robot or automated machine), or even subsequently, while the rotating member 16 is rotating. Optionally, the rotating member 16 that has already loaded stacks 101 can be mounted on plate 15 and can be replaced by another rotating member 16 when housing 100 is complete, thereby allowing stacks 101 to be loaded into a filling station separate from device 10.

[0114] At this time, the operator acts on the control knob 58 to put the shut-off disk 24 into the operating position, in which the stack 101 begins to descend toward the transport unit 13.

[0115] The rotating member 16 is rotated by means of a first motor 27 controlled by an electronic control unit 57, for example, by rotating gradually in increments equal to the aforementioned angle α, for example, in a clockwise direction. Figure 2 As indicated by the middle arrow S.

[0116] The stack 101, loaded in the four through holes 21 of the same group, falls under gravity into the second tubular guide element 42 below, and from these tubular guide elements into the third tubular guide element 44. The through holes 21 are arranged to be aligned on the same radial segment. This occurs when the rotation of the rotating member 16 aligns the four through holes 21 of the above group with the four through holes 26 of the fixed plate 15. Figure 6 ).

[0117] At this point, the electronic control unit 57 commands a pickup cycle that begins at the actuators 38 and 39 associated with the clamping members 33 and 35. Figure 1 The drive of the jaws 36 and 37 is to close them according to a possible temporarily staggered closing sequence, which provides the ability to command the jaws 36 of the first clamping member 33 to close before closing the jaws 37 of the second clamping member 35.

[0118] In this way, the first clamping members 33 move to the engagement position, where they clamp the second housing 100B of each stack 101. Figure 4 This temporarily halts the descent of the housing above the first housing 100A, allowing only this one housing to fall under gravity against the teeth 51 of the stop element 50 located at the interference position. The second clamping member 35 clamps the first housing 100A of each stack 101, for example and preferably corresponding to its filter 102.

[0119] After receiving a signal from actuators 38 and 39 indicating that the operation of closing jaws 36 and 37 has occurred, the electronic control unit 57 may first command actuator 52 to move stop element 50 to its non-interference position, and then command second motor 49 to command slider 46 and second clamping member 35 attached thereto to move from first raised position P1 to second lowered position P2.

[0120] In this way, only the first housing 100A of each stack 101 will be in the lowered position, with its filter 102 very close to the corresponding support 212 of the conveying member 201, while the second housing 100B of each stack 101 will remain stationary, held by the first clamping member 33 together with all the other possible housings 100 of the same stack 101 above it.

[0121] Once the second clamping member 35 has reached the second lowering position P2, the electronic control unit 57 commands the actuator 39 to open the jaws 37 of the second clamping member 35, so that the first shell 100A of each stack 101 falls into the lower support 212 of the conveying member 211 by gravity.

[0122] Furthermore, when all the first housings 100A of the descending stacks 101 have passed the stop element 50, the electronic control unit 57 first commands the second clamping member 35 to rise via the second motor 49, and then commands the actuator 52 to return the stop element 50 to its interference position.

[0123] When the stop element 50 reaches its interference position again, the electronic control unit 57 commands the actuator 38 to open the jaws 36 of the first clamping member 33, allowing the second housing 100B to fall downwards until it stops against the stop element 50, thus becoming the new first housing 100A, ready to be picked up by the second clamping member 35 and carried onto the conveying member in the subsequent work cycle.

[0124] Repeat the above picking cycle so that four housings 100 are inserted into the supports 212 of different conveying components 211 at a time, and the conveying components 211 are brought to the loading position in any suitable manner, that is, their supports 212 are precisely coaxial with axes Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4.

[0125] When the electronic control unit 57 receives a signal from the sensor 43 indicating that the housing 100 with four stacks 101 in front of it is being introduced into the second tubular guide element 42, it will command the first motor 27 to perform a new rotation at another angle α.

[0126] At this point, the entire cycle described above is repeated until all the housings 100 loaded on the feed unit 12 have been picked up and inserted into the supports 212 of the respective conveying components 211.

[0127] As can be clearly seen from the above, the device 10 can also operate continuously in cycles because the feeding of the stack 101 of the housing 100 in the feeding unit 12 is independent of the pick-up cycle performed by the transport unit 13.

[0128] It should be noted that the presence of the four sensors 43 allows for the inspection of the actual presence of the housing 100 inside the second and third tubular guide elements 42 and 44, and the rotation of the rotating member 16 can be properly controlled by the electronic control unit 57 and / or other control devices of the machine 200 to prevent it from erroneously shearing the housing 100 itself.

[0129] Furthermore, the electronic control unit 57 manages the potential absence of more than one housing 100 on one or more of the second and third tubular guide elements 42 and 44. The electronic control unit 57 commands each of the first clamping members 33 via four sensors 43 and actuators 38 to selectively retain more than one stack 101 in which more than one housing 100 is missing, compared to a predetermined number of housings 100, to achieve leveling of the housings 100 in the second and third tubular guide elements 42 and 44. This function allows for continuous operation of the feed unit 12 even when the stack 101 has a possible unbalanced load, such as by an operator and / or robot or automated machine, resulting in a different number of housings 100 than the predetermined number.

[0130] It is obvious that modifications and / or additions can be made to the above-described feeding device 10 and feeding method for automatically feeding the housing 100 of a tobacco product without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

[0131] For example, in general, each motion of each of the aforementioned electric motors can be obtained by another actuation of any type, such as pneumatic or hydrodynamic.

[0132] It is equally clear that, although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, those skilled in the art will certainly be able to implement many other equivalent forms of the feeding device 10 and feeding method for automatically feeding the casing of tobacco products, all of which are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0133] In the following claims, the references in parentheses are for the sole purpose of readability: they should not be considered as limiting factors of the scope of protection defined by the claims themselves.

Claims

1. A feeding device (10) for automatically feeding a housing (100) forming a tobacco article toward at least one conveying member (211), the conveying member having one or more first supports aligned along a substantially horizontal conveying axis (X) and configured to each receive one of the housings (100), wherein the housings (100) are hollow and stackable for partial insertion into another formed stack (101), the feeding device (10) comprising a feeding unit (12) disposed above the at least one conveying member (211) and configured to temporarily support the stack (101) of housings (100), and a feeding unit (12) inserted between the feeding unit (12) and the at least one conveying member (211) and configured to selectively transport the housings (100) one after another from the feeding unit (12). A transport unit (13) to one or more first supports of the at least one conveying member (211), wherein each of the stacks (101) includes a first housing (100A) located at the lower end of the respective stack (101), and at least a second housing (100B) is partially inserted into the first housing (100A) from above, the transport unit (13) including stop elements (50) configured to move between an interference position and a non-interference position, wherein in the interference position, for each of the stacks (101), they cooperate with the first housing (100A) to temporarily stop the fall of the first housing (100A), and in the non-interference position, they release the first housing (100A) such that the released first housing (100A) can be released into one of the one or more first supports, characterized in that, The transport unit (13) further includes a first clamping member (33) disposed between the feed unit (12) and the stop element (50), configured to move between an engaged position and a non-engaged position, in which, for each of the stacks (101), they engage with the second housing (100B) closest to the first housing (100A) so that, for each of the stacks (101), at least when the stop element (50) is in the non-interference position, the descent of the housing above the first housing (100A) is temporarily halted, and in the non-engaged position, only when the stop element (50) is in the interference position, the first clamping member (33) releases the second housing (100B) closest to the first housing (100A) to fall onto the stop element (50), the second housing (100B) falling by the first clamping member (33) becoming a new first housing (100A) upon reaching the stop element (50). The feeding unit (12) includes a rotating member (16) rotatably mounted about a substantially perpendicular axis of rotation (Z) and having a plurality of second supports parallel to the axis of rotation (Z) and configured to each receive one of the stacks (101) of the housing (100). The rotating member (16) is configured to perform incremental rotations, each incremental rotation having a defined angle (α), to selectively align the rows of the plurality of second supports arranged along a radial segment of the rotating member (16) perpendicularly to the transport unit (13). The feed unit (12) includes a shut-off disc (24) configured to selectively close the plurality of second supports and release only the second supports positioned along the radial segment perpendicular to the transport unit (13), so as to allow only the stack (101) of the housing (100) located in the second supports not closed by the shut-off disc (24) to descend.

2. The feeding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transport unit (13) further includes a second clamping member (35) configured to clamp the first housing (100A) from the stop element (50) and bring the clamped first housing (100A) to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member (211) so as to release it into one of the more than one first supports.

3. The feeding device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that, The second clamping member (35) is movable along a first straight line segment on a vertical plane between a first raised position (P1) and a second lowered position (P2), the first raised position (P1) being the position when the second clamping member clamps the first housing (100A), and the second lowered position (P2) being the position where the second clamping member brings the clamped first housing (100A) to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member (211).

4. The feeding device (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second clamping member (35) is configured to clamp the first housing (100A) in the first raised position (P1) when the stop element (50) is in the interference position, and to move to the second lowered position (P2) when the stop element (50) is in the non-interference position to bring the clamped first housing (100A) to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member (211).

5. The feeding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating component (16) includes an upper plate (19) and a lower plate (20) that are coaxial with each other and arranged opposite to each other, with a plurality of tubular elements (23) inserted therebetween and communicating with the plurality of second supports. The tubular elements (23) are arranged parallel to the axis of rotation (Z).

6. The feeding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the first clamping members (33) includes at least one clamp having a pair of jaws (36) configured to selectively open and close on the housing (100).

7. The feeding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a sensor (43) located between the feed unit (12) and the transport unit (13), the sensor (43) being configured to detect a possible shortage of housings (100) in each stack (101) relative to a determined preset number, and an electronic control unit (57) configured to control the first clamping members (33) in response to a signal emitted by the sensor (43) such that they selectively maintain the stacks (101) with a number of housings (100) less than the determined preset number, thereby suppressing movement of the first clamping members (33) in the non-engaged position at least until the electronic control unit (57) receives from the sensor (43) a signal corresponding to the detection of a number of housings (100) at least equal to the determined preset number.

8. The feeding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The stop element (50) includes a comb plate that is movable along a second straight segment on a horizontal plane when the comb plate moves between the interference position and the non-interference position.

9. The feeding device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distance (H3) between the stop element (50) and the first clamping member (33) along the vertical axis remains fixed and is slightly greater than the length (L) of the housing (100).

10. A feeding method for automatically feeding housings (100) for forming tobacco articles to at least one conveying member (211), the conveying member having one or more first supports aligned along a substantially horizontal conveying axis (X) and configured to each receive one of the housings (100), wherein the housings (100) are hollow and stackable for partial insertion into another formed stack (101), the method comprising at least one feeding step in which a feeding unit (12) positioned above the at least one conveying member (211) feeds the stack (101) of housings (100) to a transport unit (13) inserted between the feeding unit (12) and the at least one conveying member (211), and a transport step in which the transport unit (13) selectively transports the housings (100) one after another. The transport is directed toward the at least one conveying member (211) and the more than one first support, wherein each of the stacks (101) includes a first housing (100A) located at the lower end of the respective stack (101), and at least a second housing (100B) is partially inserted into the first housing (100A) from above. In the transport step, the stop elements (50) of the transport unit (13), disposed between the feed unit (12) and the at least one conveying member (211), move between an interference position and a non-interference position. In the interference position, for each of the stacks (101), they cooperate with the first housing (100A) to temporarily stop the fall of the first housing (100A). In the non-interference position, they release the first housing (100A) such that the released first housing (100A) is released into one of the more than one first support. The first clamping member (33) of the transport unit (13) is disposed between the feed unit (12) and the stop element (50) and moves between an engaged position and a non-engaged position. In the engaged position, for each of the stacks (101), they engage with the second housing (100B) closest to the first housing (100A). For each stack (101), at least when the stop element (50) is in the non-interference position, the falling of the housing above the first housing (100A) is temporarily stopped. In the non-engaged position, only when the stop element (50) is in the interference position, the first clamping member (33) releases the second housing (100B) closest to the first housing (100A) and allows it to fall onto the stop element (50). The second housing (100B) falling by the first clamping member (33) becomes a new first housing (100A) upon reaching the stop element (50). The feeding unit (12) includes a rotating member (16) rotatably mounted about a substantially perpendicular axis of rotation (Z) and having a plurality of second supports parallel to the axis of rotation (Z) and configured to each receive one of the stacks (101) of the housing (100). The rotating member (16) is configured to perform incremental rotations, each incremental rotation having a defined angle (α), to selectively align the rows of the plurality of second supports arranged along a radial segment of the rotating member (16) perpendicularly to the transport unit (13). The feed unit (12) includes a shut-off disc (24) configured to selectively close the plurality of second supports and release only the second supports positioned along the radial segment perpendicular to the transport unit (13), so as to allow only the stack (101) of the housing (100) located in the second supports not closed by the shut-off disc (24) to descend.

11. The feeding method according to claim 10, characterized in that, In the transport step, the second clamping member (35) of the transport unit (13) clamps the first housing (100A) from the stop element (50) and brings the clamped first housing (100A) to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member (211) to release it into one of the more than one first supports.

12. The feeding method according to claim 11, characterized in that, When the second clamping member (35) clamps the first housing (100A), the stop element (50) is in the interference position; conversely, when the second clamping member (35) brings the clamped first housing (100A) to the vicinity of the at least one conveying member (211), the stop element (50) is in the non-interference position.

13. The feeding method according to claim 10, characterized in that, In the feeding step, the rotating member (16) of the feeding unit (12) is rotatably mounted about a substantially vertical axis of rotation (Z) and provided with a plurality of second supports, in which one or more of the housings (100) are received, the housings (100) being organized to form the stack (101) and performing incremental rotations, each incremental rotation having a defined angle (α) to selectively align the rows of the plurality of second supports arranged along the radial segment of the rotating member (16) perpendicularly to the transport unit (13).

14. The feeding method according to claim 10, characterized in that, It also includes a control step in which a sensor (43) located between the feed unit (12) and the transport unit (13) detects a possible shortage of the housings (100) in each stack (101) relative to a determined preset number, and wherein an electronic control unit (57) controls the first clamping members (33) in response to a signal emitted by the sensor (43) such that they selectively maintain the stacks (101) with a number of housings (100) less than the determined preset number, thereby suppressing movement of the first clamping members (33) in the non-engaged position at least until the electronic control unit (57) receives from the sensor (43) a signal corresponding to the detection of a number of housings (100) at least equal to the determined preset number.

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