Measuring system, measuring device, measuring method and calibration method for measuring the amount or proportion of additives in a material flow of the tobacco processing industry

Abstract

A measuring system (30) for measuring the amount or proportion of an additive in a material flow (11) of the tobacco processing industry, comprising a first measuring device (31) arranged upstream of an adding device (19) for adding the additive to the material flow (11), a second measuring device (32) arranged downstream of the adding device (19), and an electronic data processing device (27) set up to ascertain the mass or amount of the additive from the measuring signals of the first and second measuring devices (31, 32). The first measuring device (31) is arranged immediately upstream of the adding device (19), and the second measuring device (32) is arranged immediately downstream of the adding device (19).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a measuring system for measuring the amount or proportion of additives in a material stream in the tobacco processing industry. The invention also relates to a machine for manufacturing rod-shaped articles, a measuring device, a measuring method, and a calibration method. Background Technology

[0002] It is known from EP 1 480 532 B1 that the amount of triacetin coating on filter tip strands can be measured using two measuring devices: one before the triacetin coating and one after the triacetin coating.

[0003] In one of the applicant's current systems, two microwave measuring devices are used: the first above the filament bundle behind the bogie, and the second within a closed strip immediately before the final product, inside a sensor holder. Product relevance is given by the second measuring device in the sensor holder. Along the path between the two measuring devices, the filament material is stretched and transformed into a web-like state. In this web-like state, the additive to be measured (e.g., triacetin, activated carbon, granules, or fragrance) is then coated. After coating, the filament is again shaped into a cylinder, wrapped in paper, and finally, after the seams and paper are glued, it is measured by the second measuring device in the sensor holder. One problem with this system is that along the path between the two measuring devices, not only the additive is coated, but also paper (with unknown material moisture content), seam glue, paper glue, and possibly capsules are added. Therefore, the measured difference represents not only the amount of additive coating but also the influence of the paper and glue on the signal. In order for the differential signal to depend only on the additives, the proportions of paper, inner glue, seam glue, and possibly capsules must be constant so that they can be calculated as offsets or their effects on downstream measuring devices can be ignored.

[0004] Furthermore, to establish product relevance, the difference between the filament influence at downstream and upstream locations must be eliminated. Theoretically, this can be ensured through dry measurements during calibration. However, in actual operation, the filament influence value, particularly at the downstream location, is strongly affected by material moisture (heating) and material density (orientation, stretching, blockage). In actual operation, the difference between the filament influence at downstream and upstream locations fluctuates with a residual error ±E around zero under favorable conditions. Under unfavorable conditions, a persistent deviation from zero occurs, leading to system measurement errors.

[0005] In the described before-and-after measurements, a difference signal is generated between two measuring devices, where the current signal of the first measuring device (at the tow bundle) is correlated with the signal of the second measuring device in a delayed manner. For accurate difference measurements of the product, this delay must precisely correspond to the spacing between the measuring devices. However, due to the large distance between the two measuring devices and the process acting on the material, this positional compensation is prone to error. This necessitates, in practice, averaging calculations for, for example, 10 to 50 products.

[0006] Planar measuring devices, particularly planar microwave measuring devices, are known for measuring web-like materials. If additives, such as triacetin, fragrances, or carrier materials, are added to the web-like product shortly before measurement, partial deposition of these additives on the measuring device may occur during operation. This can happen through contact or droplet formation. These deposits can distort measurement results and introduce system measurement errors.

[0007] Humidity fluctuations often occur in input materials due to storage (e.g., unilateral pressure on the roll) or material adjustments during operation (e.g., as the input material is adapted to environmental conditions), such as in the towing stage of filter manufacturing or when processing tobacco films in an embossing machine. These humidity fluctuations can affect the processing in applications, such as the effectiveness of the embossing process.

[0008] It is known to measure humidity and account for the effects of humidity fluctuations. Examples of this include humidity compensation for measurement parameters when measuring triacetin in a filament bundle, so that triacetin can be accurately measured despite fluctuations in the humidity signal; and adjusting the embossing depth according to the material humidity to maintain constant ventilation. Currently, this is only implemented as a feedback loop, i.e., by means of a closed-loop control loop, and therefore is only effective for slow fluctuations. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The objective of this invention is to provide a method for measuring the amount or proportion of additives, which is precise and unaffected by interfering factors (e.g., paper, glue, humidity). Furthermore, accurate product relevance is required, aiming to measure the amount of additive applied in a product-related manner. Additionally, distortion of measurement results due to system measurement errors should be avoided.

[0010] This task is solved by the features of the independent claims. According to the invention, the first measuring device is arranged upstream of the adding device, and the second measuring device is arranged downstream of the adding device. "Adjacent" here specifically means that there are no other functional units related to or in contact with the product flow between the respective measuring devices and the adding device, particularly no guiding or conveying devices for the material flow. By performing measurements adjacent to each other before and after coating according to the invention, the difference between the two measuring signals from the two measuring devices essentially contains only the influence of the coated additive; systematic error sources are eliminated. Parasitic portions arising from the influence of other components (such as paper, glue, and possibly capsules) disappear because, according to the system of the invention, these parasitic portions only function downstream of the second measuring device. Therefore, higher measurement accuracy and reduced interference effects are achieved according to the invention. In operation, the difference between the influence of the un-additive material (e.g., filaments) at the downstream and upstream positions can be considered negligible because no other influence besides the coating of the additive functions between the two measuring devices. Due to the shorter distance, positional compensation between the two measuring devices is also much more accurate than known methods.

[0011] Preferably, the first and second measuring devices are designed to be substantially the same or structurally identical. This eliminates another source of systematic error caused by different designs of the measuring devices.

[0012] Preferably, the first and second measuring devices are microwave measuring devices. Microwave measuring devices can determine the amount or proportion of additives with high precision. Other advantageous measuring devices are high-frequency, capacitive, infrared, or optical measuring devices.

[0013] Preferably, the first and second measuring devices are planar sensors, i.e., they have a planar measuring surface and / or a planar measuring article receiving portion. Planar sensors are particularly suitable for measuring web-shaped measuring articles in the tobacco processing industry, such as webs of material drawn from filter tow packages, for example, filter tow webs, or tobacco films, or other material webs, such as nonwoven fabric or paper webs.

[0014] Preferably, the measurement system includes a reference sensor, wherein the electronic data processing equipment is configured to establish a product correlation for the measurement signal of the measuring device based on the measurement signal from the reference sensor. This provides accurate product correlation and allows for the measurement of the amount of additive applied in relation to the product. Within the scope of this application, the product is a finished product, i.e., a single final product cut from the material flow. Product correlation establishes the correlation between the measurement signal of the measuring device and each individual (final) product. For this purpose, it is necessary to know the path length and synchronization between the measuring device and the reference sensor, i.e., a virtual distance.

[0015] In other words, to ensure accurate product relevance of the measurement signal, preferably, the additive signal is tracked in time (and / or space) so that it is in a virtual plane with the reference sensor. During calibration, the offset can be determined by comparing the signal in the output-side measurement unit (with the reference sensor) with the signal from the second measurement device. The offset value can also be continuously updated during operation to ensure accurate product relevance.

[0016] Advantageously, the reference sensor is a microwave sensor. Microwave sensors allow for precise determination of the positional correlation of different sections of the material flow. The reference sensor can also advantageously be a high-frequency, capacitive, infrared, or optical sensor.

[0017] The present invention also provides a machine for manufacturing rod-shaped articles for the tobacco processing industry from a material flow, comprising the measuring system described above. The machine preferably includes a feeding device for feeding packaging webs into the material flow. Preferably, the measuring device is arranged upstream of the feeding device. Preferably, a reference sensor is arranged downstream of the feeding device. Preferably, a first measuring device is arranged along the conveying direction between the adding device and its nearest upstream material flow guiding or conveying device. Preferably, a second measuring device is arranged along the conveying direction between the adding device and its nearest downstream material flow guiding or conveying device. The guiding device for the material flow can be, for example, a steering device, such as a steering roller. The conveying device can be, for example, a driven rotating device, such as a conveying roller. These advantageous features relate to the arrangement of the measuring device according to the invention, either upstream or downstream of the adding device.

[0018] The aforementioned adjacent pre- and post-measurements can also be used multiple times in the production machine, for example, in addition to the module for spraying triacetin, there are other modules for coating fragrances, activated charcoal, and / or granules. For example, measurements before the capsule inserter can be correlated with subsequent capsule measurements to effectively calculate material fluctuations from the capsule signals.

[0019] The additive according to the invention can advantageously be a material humidity sensor. In this embodiment, the first measuring device is a first humidity sensor, the second measuring device is a second humidity sensor (preferably with the same structure as the first humidity sensor), and the adding device is a humidification device for humidifying the material flow. When the humidity measurement evaluation by the first humidity sensor indicates that the measured material web area is too dry, i.e., drier than the target humidity or the target humidity range, the electronic data processing device controls the humidification device to humidify the material web.

[0020] Preferably, a drying device for drying the material flow and / or a heating device for heating the material flow are disposed between the first humidity sensor and the second humidity sensor. When the humidity measurement evaluation by the first humidity sensor indicates that the measured area of ​​the material web is too wet, i.e., wetter than the target humidity or target humidity range, the electronic data processing device controls the drying device to dry the material web. In the case of the heating device, preferably, at least one first temperature sensor is disposed upstream of the heating device; alternatively, a second temperature sensor may be disposed downstream of the heating device. When the temperature measurement evaluation by the first temperature sensor indicates that the measured area of ​​the material web is too cold, i.e., colder than the target temperature or target temperature range, the electronic data processing device controls the heating device to heat the material web.

[0021] According to the advantageous aspects of the present invention described above, the material humidity is corrected so that the corrected material humidity is constant. To this end, the material humidity is measured upstream of the humidification / drying device using a first humidity sensor. Immediately following the measurement, the humidity is corrected. If the measured material web area is drier than the target humidity, it is humidified. Conversely, if the measured material web area is too wet, it is dried. Therefore, this is a feedforward controller. Immediately after correction, the material is measured again using a second humidity sensor to check the result and close the control loop.

[0022] In principle, any humidity sensor can be used for humidity measurement. However, good spatial resolution and high accuracy along the production direction are advantageous for process control. Preferably, a slotted microwave cavity resonator is used for measurement, which can detect products across the entire width of the fabric.

[0023] Preferably, the second humidity sensor (which preferably has the same structure as the first humidity sensor) should remeasure the material immediately after humidity correction using a humidification / drying device. Subsequent humidity measurements, such as in the sensor unit on the output side, are also possible.

[0024] Therefore, the first humidity measurement is used for feedforward control. The disturbance, here fluctuating material humidity, is measured and compensated for before it affects the final product. A second measurement, immediately after the drying / humidifying unit or at the final product, is used to check the suitability of the humidity compensation control parameters and, if necessary, for subsequent adjustments. This second humidity measurement enables closed-loop control, i.e., feedback control. The entire system thus combines the advantages of both feedforward and closed-loop control.

[0025] The present invention also provides a method for calibrating a measurement system, wherein the time offset between the measurement signal of one of the measurement devices and the measurement signal of the reference sensor is determined by comparing the measurement signal of a reference sensor with the measurement signal of at least one of two measurement devices (preferably the second measurement device).

[0026] The present invention also provides a method for measuring the mass or quantity of additives in a material flow in the tobacco processing industry using the above-described measurement system, wherein, during production operation, the time offset between the measurement signal of one of the measuring devices and the measurement signal of a reference sensor is preferably determined repeatedly or continuously.

[0027] Another aspect of the invention, which may be independently claimed, relates to a measuring apparatus for measuring the flow characteristics of materials in the tobacco processing industry, comprising at least one airflow generating device for generating an airflow, preferably flowing in the conveying direction, through a measuring article container of the measuring apparatus. Using the airflow generating device according to the invention, the measuring surface of the measuring article container can be kept clean, thereby preventing measurement distortion due to deposits and moisture in the measuring article container area. Measurements are more accurate because no deposits or dirt form within the measuring article container, on the measuring surface, or on the measuring window. According to this aspect of the invention, measurement and surface cleaning can be performed simultaneously during production operation.

[0028] Advantageously, along the production direction, air nozzles are integrated into the housing in front of the measuring window used for measurement. These air nozzles generate airflow on the surface of the measuring window during operation of the measuring device. This airflow can be generated as uniformly as possible across the entire surface of the measuring window. The airflow should preferably be strong enough to remove sticky deposits. Since the airflow is preferably continuous, the deposits do not dry and harden but are continuously stripped away.

[0029] Preferably, the airflow generating device includes at least one, preferably multiple, air outlets to which compressed air can be applied, which are advantageously arranged linearly and / or transversely to the conveying direction. Preferably, the airflow generating device includes at least one, preferably multiple, air suction ports, which are advantageously arranged linearly and / or transversely to the conveying direction.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, the measuring device is a planar measuring device, particularly a slotted microwave cavity resonator, having two resonator halves arranged spaced apart from each other, each resonator half having a measuring surface, each measuring surface having a measuring window. An airflow generating device is advantageously configured to generate an airflow that sweeps across one or both measuring windows of the corresponding measuring surfaces of one or both resonator halves. In the case of this slotted resonator consisting of resonator halves located above and below, in particular, a web-like material flow, an air outlet or air nozzle is advantageously integrated into the lower resonator half. An air nozzle in the upper resonator half is optional, but here it also helps to remove liquid or additives deposited on the surface of the measuring window due to contact. Along the conveying direction, behind the measuring window, an air suction port is advantageously integrated into the housing to suck up and thus remove stripped liquid or deposits. Particularly in the case of the upper resonator half, it is advantageous to apply negative pressure to these air suction ports so that liquid can be removed against gravity. Attached Figure Description

[0031] The present invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments. The drawings show: Figure 1 : A machine used to manufacture filter rods; Figure 2 Perspective view of a microwave measuring device; Figure 3 :according to Figure 2 A longitudinal cross-sectional view of the microwave measuring device; Figure 4 and Figure 5 :according to Figure 2 A top view of the upper and lower measuring surfaces of the microwave measuring device; and Figure 6 Machines for processing strip-shaped materials. Detailed Implementation

[0032] Manufacturing machine 10, exemplarily used here for manufacturing filter rods, is configured to extract material webs 11 (e.g., cellulose acetate strips 11) from a stock (in this case, filter tow bundle 12) and convey them through the manufacturing machine 10 in the conveying direction F. Guiding and / or conveying of the material webs 11 is carried out, particularly by means of guiding or conveying devices 13-18, such as rotatably driven rollers or drums 14, 15 or steering devices 13, 16, 17, 18, such as steering rollers. The conveying devices are advantageously electrically driven and / or capable of applying negative pressure to exert a holding force on the material webs 11. Guiding and / or conveying devices 13-18 form a guiding / conveying system 37 for guiding and / or conveying the material webs 11 in the areas of the adding device 19 and the measuring devices 31, 32.

[0033] In this embodiment of the filter machine, the material web 11 is first turned by a turning device 13 called a bogie and conveyed by stretch rollers 14 and 15. After turning in the turning device 16 (e.g., turning rollers), the material web 11 passes through an adding device 19, by which an additive (e.g., triacetin in this embodiment) is taken from a storage container (not shown) and applied to the material web or injected or added thereto.

[0034] After passing through the adding device 19, the material web 11 is turned by one or more turning devices 17, 18 (e.g., turning rollers). Optionally, a flavor capsule can be placed into the material web 11 at a subsequent position 26. Subsequently, a packaging web 20 (e.g., a paper web in this case) is supplied to the material web 11 by means of a supply device 35. The supply device 35 includes at least one turning device 36 (e.g., turning roller) by means of which the packaging web 20 comes into contact with the material web 11. At positions 21, 22 before and / or after the material web 11 and the packaging web 20 meet at position 23, glue (inner glue at position 21, seam glue at position 22) is preferably applied to the packaging web 20. In the forming section 28 after the material web 11 and the packaging web 20 converge 23, the material web 11 is placed on the packaging web 20 and wrapped with the packaging web 20. The packaging web 20 is then glued to itself along the seam to form a wrapped material strip 25, which is, for example, a filter strip. On the output side of the manufacturing machine 10, the wrapped material strip 25 is cut into individual rod-shaped elements, which are, for example, filter rods, by means of a cutting device 24.

[0035] The manufacturing machine has a measuring system 30, which includes a first measuring device 31, a second measuring device 32, and a reference sensor 33. The reference sensor 33 is preferably arranged in a sensor unit 34 on the output side, which is configured to measure the wrapped material strip 25 between the forming section 28 and the cutting device 24. Such a sensor unit 34 is known, for example, from EP 2 261 489 A2. In addition to the reference sensor 33, other sensors or measuring devices are advantageously arranged in the sensor unit 34 for measuring the wrapped material strip 25.

[0036] The measurement signals from the measurement system 30, particularly the measurement signals from the measuring devices 31 and 32 and the reference sensor 33, are transmitted to... Figure 1 The electronic data processing device 27 is shown only schematically, where processing and evaluation are performed. In particular, the digital electronic data processing device 27 may be part of the machine control equipment used for manufacturing machine 10, or a separate computer that may be arranged independently or, for example, in sensor unit 34.

[0037] Measuring devices 31 and 32 are used to determine the proportion or mass of additives added to the material stream 11 by means of differential measurement. Measuring devices 31 and 32 are advantageously microwave measuring devices. The measuring devices 31 and 32 are arranged such that electromagnetic measuring fields (advantageously high-frequency or microwave measuring fields) generated by the measuring devices 31 and 32 respectively pass through and interact with the material stream 11. Due to this interaction, the measuring signals generated by the measuring devices 31 and 32 are affected in a manner depending on the quantity or mass of the material stream 11 segment within the measuring area of ​​the respective measuring device 31 or 32. Based on the difference formation between the measuring signals from the second measuring device 32 and the first measuring device 31, a difference signal is obtained, which depends on the quantity or mass of the additives in the material stream, because the effects of the material stream (without additives) and material moisture are eliminated due to the difference formation. The difference formation is part of the measurement evaluation and is performed in the electronic data processing device 27.

[0038] Based on the amount of additive determined by the electronic data processing device 27, different actions can be performed. For example, the addition device 19 can be controlled based on the determined amount of additive. Additionally or alternatively, the determined amount of additive can be displayed on the machine operator's terminal 29 and / or recorded in the data storage.

[0039] Ideally, the amount of additive known by means of measuring devices 31, 32 should be individually assigned to the corresponding segments of material flow 11 so that the amount of additive contained therein is individually known for each rod-shaped article produced by manufacturing machine 10. At the output of manufacturing machine 10, immediately before cutting device 24, the correlation with each segment of material flow 11 is known in the measurement signal of reference sensor 33. If the time offset between the measurement signal of one of the measuring devices 31, 32 and the measurement signal of reference sensor 33 is known, the measurement signal of measuring devices 31, 32 used to determine the amount of additive can be individually associated with each segment of material flow 11. This offset is determined, for example in a calibration method, by comparing the measurement signal of the reference sensor with the measurement signal of at least one of the two measuring devices (preferably the second measuring device). The time offset between the measurement signal of at least one of the measuring devices and the measurement signal of the reference sensor can also be repeatedly or continuously determined and updated during production operation.

[0040] The first measuring device 31 is arranged upstream of the adding device. Specifically, this means that the first measuring device is preferably arranged along the conveying direction between the adding device and its nearest upstream material flow guide or conveying device (in this example, the deflector 16). The second measuring device is arranged downstream of the adding device. Specifically, this means that the second measuring device is preferably arranged along the conveying direction between the adding device and its nearest downstream material flow guide or conveying device (in this example, the deflector 17). Due to this arrangement of the measuring devices 31 and 32, the difference between the two corresponding measuring signals only includes the influence of the applied additive, thereby achieving higher measurement accuracy and reducing interference.

[0041] Figures 2 to 5 An advantageous embodiment of the microwave measuring device 40 is shown. The microwave measuring device 40 is a planar measuring device or planar sensor having planar measuring surfaces 41, 42, which will be described in more detail below. In this embodiment, the microwave measuring device 40 is a slotted cavity resonator, wherein an enclosed microwave cavity resonator is imagined to be slotted or cut along its central plane and thus opened, and the resulting two resonator halves 43, 44 are spaced apart from each other to form a slit-shaped measuring article receiving portion 45 for measuring the article 11 between the two resonator halves 43, 44.

[0042] The measuring surfaces 41 and 42 of the resonator halves 43 and 44 facing the measuring article 11 are sealed by microwave-impermeable cover plates 48 and 49 to prevent material from entering the interior of the resonator halves 43 and 44. A measuring opening is provided in the cover plate of each resonator half 43 and 44, which is sealed by microwave-permeable measuring windows 46 and 47 to prevent material from entering the interior of the resonator half 43 and 44 through the measuring opening. The measuring windows 46 and 47 are made of a non-conductive dielectric material, such as ceramic, plastics like PEEK, or glass. Furthermore, the material may advantageously have non-stick properties to facilitate the removal of deposits. The material flow 11 or material web is conveyed along the conveying direction F between the two resonator halves 43 and 44 and can interact with the resonant microwave field formed in the open resonator 40 and entering the measuring containment through the measuring windows 46 and 47.

[0043] Material deposits may form on the measurement windows 46 and 47, which could distort the measurement results. To prevent this, the measuring device 40 has a device 50 for generating an airflow through at least one of the measurement windows 46 and 47 (particularly the lower measurement window 47). The lower measurement window 47 is the measurement window in the lower resonator half 44, which is arranged below the material flow 11 or the material web, while the upper resonator half 43 is arranged above the material flow 11 or the material web. According to... Figure 3In one embodiment, an airflow generating device 50 is provided in each of the two resonator halves 43 and 44. In other embodiments not shown, an airflow generating device 50 is provided in only one (particularly the lower half, where sediment is more easily generated due to gravity) of the resonator half 44.

[0044] The device 50 for generating airflow has at least one, preferably multiple, air outlets 51 or air nozzles, which pass through an air pressure line 52 in the housing of the measuring device 40 (see...). Figure 3 Compressed air is supplied by an air pressure source (not shown). Air outlets 51 are arranged in the measuring surfaces 41, 42 of the corresponding resonator halves 43, 44. Preferably, the air outlets 51 are arranged in front of the corresponding measuring windows 46, 47 along the conveying direction F, preferably in a row and / or perpendicular to the conveying direction F.

[0045] Preferably, the air outlet 51 or air nozzle is shaped to generate an airflow oriented in the conveying direction F. For this purpose, the air outlet 51 or air nozzle may have a protrusion 55 extending flatly from the corresponding measuring surfaces 41, 42, such as... Figure 3 As shown. The airflow 53 discharged from the air outlet 51 is distributed in the plane of the measuring surfaces 41, 42 and advantageously sweeps across the measuring windows 46, 47 in a planar manner to blow away and absorb material deposits or liquids located there and remove them from the measuring item receiving section 45.

[0046] The number of air outlets 51 or air nozzles can vary depending on the width of the measuring window in the transverse direction to the conveying direction. The width of the air outlets 51 or air nozzles can also vary until a slit-shaped air outlet 51 is formed that extends over a considerable portion of the width of the measuring surfaces 41, 42.

[0047] Preferably, at least one air suction port 54 is provided on the side of the corresponding measuring windows 46, 47 opposite to at least one air exhaust port 51, see Figure 5 Preferably, a plurality of air suction ports 54 are provided, which are arranged behind the corresponding measuring windows 46, 47 along the conveying direction F, and preferably can be arranged in a row and / or perpendicular to the conveying direction F. The air suction ports 54 are connected to a negative pressure pipeline 56 (see... Figure 3 It is connected to a negative pressure source (not shown) so as to be able to draw away the airflow 53 and the particles or liquid transported therefrom.

[0048] Through the arrangement and design of the air outlet 51 or air nozzle and air suction port 54, planar air guidance and air distribution 57 are achieved.

[0049] according to Figure 1 The measuring device 31 and / or measuring device 32 can be advantageously designed according to Figures 2 to 5 The microwave measuring device 40. Particularly advantageously, the downstream measuring device 32 is designed as a measuring device 40 with an airflow generating device 50 to remove deposits of the additive added by the adding device 19. The upstream measuring device 31 can also be designed as a measuring device 40 with an airflow generating device 50, for example, to prevent moisture deposition on one or more measuring windows 46, 47.

[0050] according to Figure 6 The embodiment illustrates a machine 60 for the tobacco processing industry, in which web-shaped material 11 is processed. Here, the first measuring device 31 is a first material humidity sensor 61, and the second measuring device 32 is a second material humidity sensor 62. The material humidity sensors 61 and 62 are advantageously microwave measuring devices and are designed, for example, as... Figure 2 The slotted cavity resonator is shown. The adding device 19 here is a humidifying device 63, such as a spray humidifier, which can be used to humidify the material web 11, for example by spraying mist droplets.

[0051] Microwave measuring devices 61 and 62 have associated microwave electronic devices 64 and 65 for controlling microwave components and evaluating microwave measurement signals, particularly for determining material humidity from the microwave measurement signals. The evaluated measurement parameters, especially material humidity, are transmitted by the microwave electronic devices 64 and 65 to a computer 66. The measured humidity values ​​can be displayed on the operator's terminal 29 and / or recorded in a data storage device.

[0052] Computer 66 compares the transmitted measurement value with the target value or target range of material humidity. If the measured material humidity is lower than the target humidity value or target humidity range, computer 66 controls humidification device 63 through machine control device 67 to humidify material web 11, so that the measured material humidity is again consistent with the target humidity value or within the target humidity range.

[0053] The measuring system 30 advantageously includes a drying and / or heating device 68, such as an air dryer, for drying and / or heating the material web 11 in the path between humidity sensors 61 and 62. The drying and / or heating device 68 may be arranged downstream of the humidifying device 63, or alternatively upstream of it. The drying and / or heating device 68 and the humidifying device 63 may be arranged separately from each other or as a single structural unit. If the measured material humidity is higher than a target humidity value or within a target humidity range, the computer 66 controls the drying device 68 via the machine control device 67 to dry the material web 11, so that the measured material humidity again matches or falls within the target humidity range.

[0054] In the case of heating device 68, at least one first temperature sensor 69 is preferably provided upstream of heating device 68; alternatively, a second temperature sensor 70 may be provided downstream of heating device 68. When the temperature measurement evaluation by the first temperature sensor 69 indicates that the measured material web area is too cold, i.e., colder than the target temperature or target temperature range, computer 66 controls heating device 68 to heat the material web.

Claims

1. A measuring system (30) for measuring the amount or proportion of additives in a material flow (11) in a tobacco processing industry, comprising: A first measuring device (31) is arranged upstream of an adding device (19) for adding additives to the material stream (11); A second measuring device (32) is arranged downstream of the adding device (19); and an electronic data processing device (27) is configured to determine the mass or amount of the additive based on the measurement signals of the first and second measuring devices (31, 32), characterized in that the first measuring device (31) is arranged upstream of the adding device (19), and the second measuring device (32) is arranged downstream of the adding device (19).

2. The measurement system (30) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The measuring system (30) has a guiding / conveying system (37) for guiding and / or conveying the material web (11) in the area of ​​the adding device (19) and the measuring devices (31, 32).

3. The measurement system (30) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first and second measuring devices (31, 32): Constructed in a basically the same or structurally identical manner; It is a microwave, high-frequency, capacitive, infrared, or optical measuring device; and / or A flat measuring surface and / or a flat measuring article receiving part.

4. The measurement system (30) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The measurement system (30) has a reference sensor (33), wherein the electronic data processing device (27) is configured to establish the product correlation of the measurement signals of the measurement devices (31, 32) based on the measurement signals of the reference sensor (33).

5. The measurement system (30) according to claim 4, characterized in that, The reference sensor (33) is a microwave, high-frequency, capacitive, infrared, or optical sensor.

6. The measurement system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The first measuring device (31) is a first humidity sensor, the second measuring device (32) is a second humidity sensor, and the adding device is a humidifying device for humidifying the material flow.

7. The measurement system according to claim 6, characterized in that, A drying and / or heating device for drying and / or heating the material flow is provided between the first humidity sensor and the second humidity sensor.

8. A machine (10) for manufacturing rod-shaped articles for the tobacco processing industry from a material stream (11), comprising a measuring system (30) according to any one of the preceding claims.

9. The machine (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that, The machine (10) has a supply device (35) for supplying packaging webs (20) to the material flow (11), and the measuring devices (31, 32) are arranged upstream of the supply device (35).

10. The machine (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that, The reference sensor (33) according to claim 3 is arranged downstream of the supply device.

11. The machine (10) according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that, The first measuring device (31) is arranged along the conveying direction between the adding device (19) and the nearest upstream guiding or conveying device (16).

12. The machine (10) according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that, The second measuring device (32) is arranged along the conveying direction between the adding device (19) and the nearest downstream guiding or conveying device (17).

13. A measuring device (40) for measuring the properties of a material flow (11) in a tobacco processing industry, particularly for use in a measuring system (30) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The measuring device (40) has at least one airflow generating device (50) for generating airflow that flows through the measuring article receiving portion (45) of the measuring device (40) in the conveying direction.

14. The measuring device (40) according to claim 13, characterized in that, The airflow generating device (50) has at least one, preferably multiple, air outlets (51) capable of applying compressed air, which are advantageously arranged linearly and / or transversely to the conveying direction F.

15. The measuring device (40) according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The airflow generating device (50) has at least one, preferably multiple, air suction ports (54), which are advantageously arranged linearly and / or transversely to the conveying direction F.

16. The measuring device according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The measuring device is a slotted microwave cavity resonator with two resonator halves (43, 44) spaced apart from each other. Each resonator half has a measuring surface (41, 42) and each measuring surface has a measuring window (46, 47). The airflow generating device (50) is configured to generate airflow that sweeps across one or two measuring windows (46, 47) on the corresponding measuring surfaces (41, 42) of one or two resonator halves (43, 44).

17. A method for calibrating a measurement system (30) according to any one of claims 4 or 5, characterized in that, The time offset between the measurement signal of one of the measuring devices (31, 32) and the measurement signal of the reference sensor (33) is determined by comparing the measurement signal of the reference sensor (33) with the measurement signal of at least one of the two measuring devices (31, 32), preferably the second measuring device (32).

18. A method for measuring the mass or amount of additives in a material stream (11) of a tobacco processing industry using a measuring system according to any one of claims 9 or 10, characterized in that, During production operation, it is preferable to repeatedly or continuously determine the time offset between the measurement signal of one of the measuring devices (31, 32) and the measurement signal of the reference sensor (33).

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