Rod-shaped smoke article with segments and an intermediate layer, as well as method and device for attaching an intermediate layer to a segment

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a smoking article, in particular a heat-not-burn article (HnB article), a manufacturing and processing method and a device for manufacturing and processing a segment.

[0002] Common HnB products comprise a tobacco-containing substrate, in particular a segment of crimped or strip-cut tobacco foil, which is inserted into a heating device for smoking. The tobacco-containing segment is pushed onto a heating mandrel, which heats the tobacco-containing substrate and generates an aerosol. During the insertion of the heating mandrel, an axial displacement of the tobacco-containing substrate may occur; in particular, parts of the tobacco-containing substrate may slip into the adjacent segment, which is preferably designed as a hollow filter. This problem of the axial displacement of the tobacco-containing substrate into the adjacent rod-shaped segment when inserting the smoking product into the heating device, in particular when placing it onto a heating mandrel, particularly concerns the devices described in the patents WO 2015082649, EP 2760303, EP 2814342,

[0003] EP 2713778 and EP 3033950 disclosed smoking articles.

[0004] The support elements provided in known HnB products can, under certain circumstances, prevent the entire tobacco substrate from shifting. The support elements must ensure a sufficiently large passage for the aerosol-containing smoke gases, which is why such a support element is tubular, preferably as a thin- or thick-walled hollow tube.

[0005] Due to its design, the tubular structure of such a support element cannot prevent the entry of pushed-through components of the tobacco substrate.

[0006] In the tobacco processing industry, it is known to provide the burn end of a smoking article with a removable cap. This is described, for example, in WO 2008059201 and WO 2009007258. A web-like material is provided, glued, cut into segments, attached to the burn end with an overhang, rolled, and folded around the burn end.

[0007] Such a procedure would close off one end face and one end side of a rod-shaped segment and prevent components of a tobacco-containing segment from escaping beyond the end face of the tobacco-containing segment, for example into an adjacent segment. However, this would result in folds and thickenings forming on the outer surface of the rod-shaped segment, which would impede further processing. This method of manufacturing a closure cap necessarily results in the cap being arranged at a distal end of the rod-shaped smoking product. Since thickenings of the folded material form on the end face and end side, it is hardly feasible to arrange another rod-shaped segment onto the closed end face and end side, as correct positioning of the additional segment cannot be guaranteed.

[0008] If one wanted to implement a support function with the free passage of a support element, it would be conceivable to provide a previously designated cap on the support element or the tobacco-containing segment. However, a cap would make further processing of such a modified support element difficult, if not impossible, since the wrinkling would negatively impact both the appearance of the peripheral area and the assembly of the individual segments into a H&B article.

[0009] A solution to this problem is not known in the prior art. In the case of tobacco foils made of crimped, cut strips, or shredded tobacco, individual components can detach from the structure when a heating element is inserted, enter the passage area of ​​the support element, and lead to significant flavor impairments. As a result of individual components being pushed through, the pressing effect of the inserted heating element on the tobacco components of the tobacco substrate is reduced, resulting in poorer or even insufficient heat transfer and aerosol generation.

[0010] US 4 585 015 A, US 2015 / 296882 A1, WO 2017 / 042297 A1 and WO 2020 / 089155 A1 disclose a rod-shaped smoking article according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0011] DE 691 17 615 T2, US 10 159 277 B2, WO 2015 / 082650 A1, EP 3 021 697 B1 and US 3 621 851 A each disclose a rod-shaped smoking article according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0012] The object of the present invention is to provide a rod-shaped product which avoids the disadvantages described above and ensures a high level of enjoyment, as well as to provide a method and a device with which the disadvantages can be reliably avoided and the production of high-quality HnB articles can be ensured.

[0013] The object is achieved by a rod-shaped smoking article of the tobacco processing industry with at least two, preferably three, longitudinally axially arranged segments which are connected to one another by a wrapping structure, wherein the smoking article has the following: a mouth-side end and a distal end opposite the mouth-side end, a first segment which has a tobacco-containing substrate, preferably arranged directly at the distal end of the smoking product, a second segment, in particular arranged adjacent to the first segment, with an outer lateral surface, in particular substantially designed as a lateral surface of a cylinder, a hollow space arranged in the longitudinal axial direction, preferably centrally, and an inner lateral surface, in particular substantially designed as a lateral surface of a cylinder, and an intermediate layer, preferably completely or partially consisting of paper, aluminum, plastic, metal and / or tobacco-containing foil,which has a thickness and a surface, preferably with a thickness between 1 mm and 0.002 mm, preferably between 0.004 mm and 0.030 mm, particularly preferably between 0.006 mm and 0.020 mm, and preferably with an surface between 12 mm 2 and 80 mm 2 , preferably between 20 mm 2 and 50 mm 2 , particularly preferably between 35 mm 2 and 45 mm 2 , in particular with a rectangular, square, round, partially round, oval, polygonal, preferably hexagonal, octagonal, particularly preferably with a regularly formed surface, wherein the intermediate layer is arranged between the end faces of two adjacent segments, in particular between the first segment and the second segment.

[0014] The intermediate layer advantageously has a basis weight or grammage between 20 g / m 2< and 350 g / m 2< , preferably between 30 g / m 2< and 250 g / m 2<.

[0015] By arranging an intermediate layer in this way within a smoking article, the longitudinal axial displacement of the tobacco-containing substrate or components thereof, particularly when inserted onto a heating mandrel, is advantageously prevented. The intermediate layer can be designed such that any section of the end face of a segment is covered by the intermediate layer.

[0016] If an intermediate layer is inserted between two end faces of adjacent rod-shaped segments in the HnB article and provided with corresponding openings, a high smoking pleasure can be ensured and a displacement of tobacco substrate components into the passage area can be avoided, which is described in more detail below.

[0017] The rod-shaped smoking article according to the invention is characterized in that the intermediate layer has an upper side and a lower side, and the upper side and / or the lower side is connected to an end face of a segment adjacent to the intermediate layer by a composite material, in particular a liquid, an adhesive, a glue, or a pasty material, in particular the upper side to an end face of the second segment and / or the lower side to an end face of the first segment. This enables precise positional fixation of the intermediate layer on the end face of a rod-shaped segment. The intermediate layer has two opposite flat sides, the distance between which defines the thickness of the intermediate layer. The area of ​​the intermediate layer corresponds either to the area of ​​the first flat side, the second flat side, or the average area of ​​the two flat sides.Optionally, one flat side can be defined as the top side and the other as the bottom side. The lateral boundaries of the flat sides or the top and bottom sides form the edge of the intermediate layer, which can be divided into any desired edge sections.

[0018] The rod-shaped smoking article according to the invention is further characterized in that the intermediate layer is provided at least in sections with openings, in particular a perforation, wherein in particular the total area of ​​the openings is between 5 mm 2 and 25 mm 2 , preferably between 10 mm 2 and 15 mm 2 . If the intermediate layer is designed such that the upper or lower side of the intermediate layer is adapted to the end face in order to cover a sufficient area and, if appropriate, to form a flat fixation to the end face, the intermediate layer is advantageously provided with a perforation or openings so that the tobacco-containing substrate or components thereof cannot be axially displaced, but the aerosol can be consumed by the consumer through the smoking article and the adjacent segments and filter elements.

[0019] The rod-shaped smoking article according to the invention is further characterized in that the intermediate layer is arranged between the end faces of two adjacent segments such that the longitudinal axial projection of the intermediate layer exclusively covers a region of the end faces, and preferably each edge section of the sheet material has a radial distance from the wrapping structure, in particular greater than 0.2 mm. Parts of the end faces and end faces of a segment, such as the support segment and / or the tobacco substrate segment, can be kept free while still achieving a sufficient supporting effect. This prevents the intermediate layer from projecting radially laterally, so that the intermediate layer does not obstruct the outer wrapping of the smoking article.If the intermediate layer has a smaller area than the end face and is arranged on the end face of the segment in such a way that the intermediate layer does not protrude laterally, i.e. the projection of the intermediate layer only covers a (partial) area of ​​the end face, the wrapping when assembling a HnB article is not negatively influenced by the intermediate layer.

[0020] A preferred development of the previously described embodiments of the rod-shaped smoking article is characterized in that a mouthpiece, in particular a filter segment, is arranged at the mouth end of the smoking article. Similar to conventional smoking articles, heat-not-burn products also have a filter element at the mouth end to filter the generated aerosol. Heat-not-burn products, in particular, feature a segmented mouthpiece, which, in addition to filtering effects, also implements cooling effects.

[0021] A preferred development of the previously described embodiments of the rod-shaped smoking article is characterized in that the first segment comprises at least partially crimped tobacco-containing foil, tobacco-containing foil cut into strips, or snippets of tobacco-containing foil, preferably more than 50% of the entire tobacco-containing substrate, and / or the second segment is designed as a hollow body, in particular as a NWA hollow filter or as a hollow acetate filter provided with one or two wrapping layers. Particularly if a tobacco-containing substrate consists of crimped foil or foil cut into strips, a longitudinal axial displacement of parts of the tobacco-containing substrate is to be expected due to the insertion process of a heating mandrel, since the tobacco-containing substrate forms only a weak transverse axial bond.

[0022] The object is also achieved by a method for applying an intermediate layer to the end face—or, in other words, to the end side—of a segment of a rod-shaped article in the tobacco processing industry, which method comprises the following steps: providing a segment, in particular a tobacco-containing segment and / or a hollow body segment; providing an intermediate layer, in particular providing a web-shaped wrapping material, in particular a wrapping material containing paper or aluminum; characterized by arranging and / or in particular fixing the intermediate layer, in particular in a single layer, to an end face of the provided segment and in particular wrapping it with the provided web-shaped wrapping material. The fixing can be provided mechanically and / or chemically, in particular by an auxiliary substance in the form of a composite material.

[0023] The process benefits from the aforementioned advantages of the rod-shaped smoking product. This method allows a large number of high-quality HnB products to be reliably produced in a short time.

[0024] The method according to the invention is further characterized in that the intermediate layer is or is provided at least in sections with openings, in particular a perforation, wherein in particular the total area of ​​the openings is between 5 mm 2< and 25 mm 2<, preferably between 10 mm 2< and 15 mm 2<.

[0025] The interlayer can be obtained from a web material that is prefabricated with appropriate openings and provided in the form of reels. It can also be obtained from a web material in which the openings are introduced after the web material has been pulled off a reel and before individual interlayers are separated by means of a perforation stage or device.

[0026] The method according to the invention is further characterized in that an end face of the provided segment and / or the intermediate layer, in particular the bottom and / or top side of the intermediate layer, is exposed to a composite material, in particular a liquid, an adhesive, a glue or a pasty material.

[0027] The method according to the invention is further characterized in that the intermediate layer is provided as a section of a web material and preferably in a further method step the section is separated from the web material, in particular cut, lasered, torn or punched, and spaced from the web material.

[0028] The method according to the invention is further characterized in that, instead of producing the intermediate layer from a web material, a prefabricated intermediate layer is provided on a web-like carrier material. Preferably, in a further method step, the intermediate layer is separated from the carrier material, in particular peeled off or detached, and spaced apart from the carrier material. Optionally, the intermediate layer provided on the carrier material can be further processed, for example, by a cutting or perforating process.

[0029] A preferred development of the method is characterized in that the intermediate layer is arranged on an end face of the provided segment, in particular connected to the end face.

[0030] A preferred development of the method is characterized in that the intermediate layer is held and / or conveyed by negative pressure during and / or after the separation process.

[0031] To achieve the object mentioned at the outset, a device for applying an intermediate layer to an end face of a segment of a rod-shaped article of the tobacco processing industry is further proposed, comprising a track (A, B) which is provided with a segment conveyor device for receiving segments and conveying the segments along a conveyor path F3, with a web material feed device which has a conveyor element for conveying web material and a separating device for separating an intermediate layer from the web material, with a composite material station for dispensing composite material and with an application device for applying an intermediate layer to the end face of the segment, in which the application device has aA rotary conveyor which can be driven in rotation about an axis of rotation and which has one or more holding elements for holding one or more intermediate layers, and the rotary conveyor has a circular orbit which is at least partially circular, and in which the segment conveyor device, the conveying path (F3), the rotary conveyor and the orbit are designed, arranged and aligned with one another in such a way that the distance between the end face of a segment received by the segment conveyor device and conveyed along the conveying path (F3) and an intermediate layer held by a holding element and conveyed on the orbit decreases until the end face of the segment comes into contact with the intermediate layer, and the segment and the intermediate layer are guided so as to be pressed against one another.

[0032] With a device designed in this way, segments can be reliably produced that can be protected from individual tobacco substrate components being pushed through or inserted.

[0033] A further development of the device is characterized by a two-track design with a track A and a track B, in which the track A is arranged on one side A of the conveying path (F3) and the track B on the side B opposite the side A, track A is designed adjacent to the segment conveying device for receiving segments and conveying the segments along the conveying path (F3), and track A is provided with a web material feed device A, which has a conveying element A for conveying web material A and a separating device A for separating an intermediate layer from the web material A, with a composite material station A for dispensing composite material A and with an application device A for applying an intermediate layer on the end face of the segment, in which the application device A has aA rotary conveyor A which can be driven in rotation about an axis of rotation A and has one or more holding elements A for holding one or more intermediate layers, and the rotary conveyor A has an at least partially circular orbit A, and in which the segment conveyor device, the conveying path (F3), the rotary conveyor A and the orbit A are designed, arranged and aligned with one another in such a way that the distance between the end face of a segment picked up by the segment conveyor device and conveyed along the conveying path (F3) and an intermediate layer held by a holding element A and conveyed on the orbit A decreases until the end face of the segment comes into contact with the intermediate layer, and the segment and the intermediate layer are guided so as to be pressable against one another, and track B is designed adjacent to the segment conveyor device for picking up segments and conveying the segments along the conveying path (F3),and track B is provided with a web material feed device B, which has a conveyor element B for conveying web material B and a separating device B for separating an intermediate layer from the web material B, with a composite material station B for dispensing composite material B and with an application device B for applying an intermediate layer to the end face of the segment, in which the application device B has a rotary conveyor B which can be driven to rotate about a rotation axis B, in particular arranged transversely to the conveyor path (F3), and which has one or more holding elements for holding one or more intermediate layers, and the rotary conveyor B has an at least partially circular orbit B, and in which the segment conveyor device, the conveyor path (F3), the rotary conveyor B and the orbit B are designed, configured and aligned with one another in such a way,that the distance between the end face of a segment picked up by the segment conveyor device and conveyed along the conveying path (F3) and an intermediate layer held by a holding element B and conveyed on the circulating track B decreases until the end face of the segment comes into contact with the intermediate layer, and the segment and the intermediate layer are guided so that they can be pressed against one another, wherein track A and track B are preferably constructed at least partially axially symmetrically to one another, and functionally identical components of track A and track B are preferably arranged at least partially opposite one another track by track or offset from one another track by track.

[0034] A further development of the device is characterized in that the segment conveyor device has a rotary-driven drum with receiving troughs arranged equidistantly around the circumference and pressurized with vacuum via through-openings, and a section of the drum is assigned to one or each track A, B, or a circulatingly driven conveyor belt with receiving troughs arranged equidistantly around the carrying side and pressurized with vacuum via through-openings, and a section of the conveyor belt is assigned to one or each track A, B

[0035] A further development of the device is characterized in that the conveying element A and / or the conveying element B is designed as a pair of conveying rollers with conveying rollers that can be moved towards and away from each other, and a pair of conveying rollers is assigned to one or each track A, B.

[0036] A further development of the device is characterized in that the separating device A and / or the separating device B is designed as a rotationally drivable knife roller with knives arranged distributed over the circumference and a knife roller is assigned to one or each track A, B.

[0037] A further development of the device is characterized in that the composite material station A and / or the composite material station B has a roller application device for dispensing and applying composite material A, B by means of a rotating driven roller circumferential surface and one or each track A, B is assigned a roller application device or has a nozzle application device for dispensing and applying composite material and one or each track A, B is assigned a nozzle application device.

[0038] A further development of the device is characterized in that the rotary conveyor A and / or the rotary conveyor B has a rotationally drivable suction roller that can be subjected to vacuum and has holding elements that are arranged distributed over the circumference and designed as suction sections, and one or each track A, B is assigned such a suction roller or has a circumferentially drivable conveyor belt with receiving troughs that are arranged equidistantly distributed over the carrying side and that can be subjected to vacuum via passage openings, and one or each track A, B is assigned such a conveyor belt.

[0039] A further development of the device is characterized in that the segment conveyor device is designed and configured to receive a double-length segment, preferably in a series of consecutive and preferably spaced-apart double-length segments.

[0040] A further development of the device is characterized in that the rotary conveyor A and the rotary conveyor B are arranged adjacent to one another and the minimum distance between the orbit A and the orbit B is in a range between 10 mm and 80 mm, preferably between 12 mm and 60 mm, preferably corresponds to the length of a double-length segment less 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm, preferably less 0.07 mm to 0.8 mm.

[0041] A further development of the device is characterized in that the web material feed device A, B or the web material feed device A and / or the web material feed device B is each provided with a web storage device and with a perforation device, wherein the respective perforation device is designed and configured to introduce through openings into the respective web material, preferably at predeterminable distances from one another, preferably in the transverse direction and / or in the longitudinal direction of the transport direction of the respective web material.

[0042] An advantageous embodiment of a single-lane device for applying an intermediate layer to the end face of a spacer segment has a segment conveyor device which is designed in the form of a special trough drum or conical drum, in which the troughs can be tilted and / or positioned depending on the conveying position, in particular via a cam gear on the outer surface, or a conical drum. The spacer segment is transported in the conveying direction F3 and positioned vertically. The segment conveyor device can optionally convey one segment, in particular one spacer segment, or several segments arranged next to one another. For example, a segment arrangement consists of a filter segment designed as a mouthpiece, a cooling element and a spacer segment. This intermediate product is provided with an intermediate layer during transport on the segment conveyor device.

[0043] Preferably, a web material is provided and fed to a separating device via a conveyor element, which is preferably designed as a pair of pull rollers. This separating device can be designed as a coating device that cuts the intermediate layer from the web-like material and transfers it to the application device, which applies the intermediate layer to the end face of the rod-shaped product, in particular a spacer segment.

[0044] Advantageously, the device is designed in a two-track configuration.

[0045] A web material for producing an intermediate layer is advantageously fed to the device and cut into a specific intermediate layer configuration by a cutting device, which is designed as a laser cutting device. For this purpose, the web material is held on a rotary conveyor, in particular by negative pressure, and fed to the cutting device. The intermediate layer thus separated from the web material is preferably held on the rotary conveyor by negative pressure, and the remainder of the material web is conveyed away.

[0046] In a preferred embodiment, the intermediate layer is cut out of the web material in such a way that the web-like structure of the web material is retained and can be transported away in particular by a winding device.

[0047] In an advantageous embodiment, the rotary conveyor alternately transfers the intermediate layer to the rotary conveyor and to an application device. The rotary conveyor transfers the intermediate layer to an application device. In this embodiment, the application devices comprise a rotary conveyor with parallel rotation axes, wherein the application devices are preferably each operatively connected to a composite station, so that the outward-facing side of the intermediate layer is provided with a composite material, in particular an adhesive.

[0048] In an advantageous embodiment, at least two rotary conveyors for conveying the intermediate layer have parallel axes of rotation.

[0049] In an advantageous embodiment, the intermediate layer is provided by a web material. The web material is characterized by a carrier material on which the intermediate layer is provided, preferably in a prefabricated form for application.

[0050] The segment conveyor device can be designed as a troughed drum and have two wobble plates by means of which the intermediate layer is applied, in particular pressed, onto the end face of the double-length segment / segment arrangement located on the segment conveyor device. After the web material has reached the wobble plates, it can be deflected by a deflection device, preferably a deflection roller or a deflection mandrel, preferably by an angle between 70° and 180°, particularly preferably between 90° and 180°, so that the intermediate layer is detached and / or removed from the carrier material by the deflection. This is preferably an intermediate layer formed with a one-sided adhesive surface, which is detached from the carrier material by the deflection of the carrier material and conveyed to the end face of the segment by a holder which holds the intermediate layer to the wobble plate, preferably by suction air.

[0051] Alternatively, the intermediate layer can be applied to a single or double-length segment / segment arrangement not via the swash plates, but can be applied, for example, directly from the carrier material to the end face of the segment / segment arrangement.

[0052] A further embodiment of a method for applying an intermediate layer to the end face of a segment of a rod-shaped article of the tobacco processing industry, which is independent of the others, has the following steps: providing a segment, in particular a tobacco-containing segment and / or a hollow filter segment, providing an intermediate layer, in particular providing a web-shaped wrapping material, in particular a wrapping material containing paper and / or aluminum, characterized by arranging the intermediate layer, in particular in one layer, on an end face of the provided segment and in particular wrapping it with the provided web-shaped wrapping material, wherein the provided segment is conveyed, in particular transversely axially, in the conveying direction F3 and is rotated by at least 30°, 45°, 60° or 90° about an axis of rotation, wherein in particular the axis of rotation is aligned parallel to the conveying direction F3 of the segments.

[0053] The invention is described below, without limiting the general inventive concept, using exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. For all details of the invention not explained in more detail in the text, reference is expressly made to the drawings. The embodiments of the invention can be found in the patent claims. They show: Fig. 1 HnB smoking article with an intermediate layer in a schematic representation Fig. 2 a first embodiment of an intermediate layer arranged on the end face of a hollow filter in a schematic representation Fig. 3 a second embodiment of an intermediate layer arranged on the end face of a hollow filter in a schematic representation Fig. 4 device for applying an intermediate layer to a segment for a rod-shaped smoking article in a schematic representation Figure 5 a further embodiment of the device for applying an intermediate layer to a segment for a rod-shaped smoking article in a schematic representation Figures 6 - 11 further embodiments of the device for applying an intermediate layer to a segment of a rod-shaped smoking article

[0054] Within the scope of the invention, features marked "particularly" or "preferably" are to be understood as optional features. In the drawings, identical or similar elements and / or parts are provided with the same reference numerals, so that a repeated presentation is omitted.

[0055] Figure 1shows a rod-shaped smoking article 1 of the tobacco processing industry, in particular a HnB article, which has a tobacco-containing segment 2, a spacer segment 3 provided with a cavity 6, which can be surrounded by a wrapping material 10, a cooling element 4, which is surrounded by a wrapping material 11, and a filter segment 5. The filter segment 5 is located at the mouth-side end 8 of the smoking article, and the segment 2, which contains tobacco-containing substrate, is located at the opposite distal end 9. The rod-shaped article 1 is surrounded by a wrapping material 40, in particular a wrapping paper. Instead of the continuous wrapping paper here, a combination of two or more wrapping papers or materials can also be provided, which can be arranged overlapping or spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal axial direction.The intermediate layer 7 is located between one end face 12 of the tobacco-containing segment 2 and one end face 13 of the spacer segment 3. The intermediate layer 7 can be formed as a foil section, wherein the foil can comprise paper, plastics, aluminum, other metals, and / or a tobacco-containing substrate. The intermediate layer 7 is provided with a perforation 15. The intermediate layer 7 prevents axial displacement of the tobacco-containing substrate and enables the aerosol to be directed to the mouth-side end 8 of the smoking article 1.

[0056] Figure 2 and 3show the end face 13 of the spacer segment 3 with the hollow space 6, which is covered by an intermediate layer 7. The intermediate layer 7 is preferably provided with openings 14 in the region of the hollow space 6, in particular perforated. The intermediate layer 7 can have different shapes, thicknesses and openings 14, regardless of the design of the adjacent segment, here designed as a spacer segment (optionally designed as a hollow filter). The intermediate layer 7 can be rectangular, square, round, oval, partially round, as a hexagon, as an octagon and / or as a polygon. With a rectangular shape, web material can advantageously be used without any significant waste of web material. The thicknesses of the intermediate layer 7, the areas of the intermediate layer 7 and the area of ​​the openings 14 can be taken from the claims.The geometry of the openings 14 is also designed independently of the other features of the intermediate layer 7 and can be rectangular, oval, round, slotted or otherwise.

[0057] An intermediate layer 7 advantageously has a basis weight or grammage between 20 g / m 2< and 350 g / m 2<, preferably between 30 g / m 2< and 250 g / m 2<.

[0058] Figure 4 shows a device for applying an intermediate layer 7 to an end face 12, 13 of a rod-shaped segment 2, 3 of the tobacco processing industry. The device 16 of Figure 4has two web stores (not shown) designed as reel supply means as parts of a web material feed device 18 and a web material feed device 29, which provide the web material 20, 31 for respective tracks A, B. This is conveyed via one or each via a conveying element A, B designed as a pair of pull rollers 19, 30 in the conveying direction F1, F2 to a separating device A 21 and to a separating device B 32. The separating devices A and B each comprise knife rollers 21, 32, such as are known, for example, from their type in connection with a so-called coating device, for example according to the German patent application DE 10 2016 112 724 A1, in particular according to Figure 4 , or, for example, analogously to a cutting device according to the application DE 10 2007 059 625 A1. The rotation axes of the knife rollers 21, 32 are preferably arranged transversely to the conveying path F3 of the segment conveyor device 17.

[0059] The Fig. 4 and 5 The schematically illustrated device 16 has a two-track design with a track A and a track B, in which track A is arranged on one side A of the conveying path F3 and track B is arranged on the side B opposite side A. Track A is adjacent to the segment conveying device 17 for receiving segments 2, 3 and conveying the segments 2, 3 along the conveying path F3. Track A is provided with a web material feed device A 18. The web material feed device A 18 has a conveying element A 19 for conveying web material A 20 and a separating device A 21 for separating an intermediate layer 7 from the web material A 20.

[0060] The device 16 has a composite station A 22 for dispensing composite 23 and an application device A 24 for applying an intermediate layer 7 to the end face 12, 13 of the segment 2, 3. The application device A 24 has a rotary conveyor A 26 that can be driven to rotate about a rotation axis A 25, arranged in particular transversely to the conveying path F3, and has one or more holding elements A 27 for holding one or more intermediate layers 7.

[0061] The rotary conveyor A 26 has a circular path A 28 which is at least partially circular. The segment conveyor device 17, the conveying path F3, the rotary conveyor A 26 and the circular path A 28 are designed, configured and aligned with one another in such a way that the distance between the end face 12, 13 of a segment 2, 3 received by the segment conveyor device 17 and conveyed along the conveying path F3 and an intermediate layer 7 held by a holding element A 27 and conveyed on the circular path A 28 decreases until the end face 12, 13 of the segment 2, 3 comes into contact with the intermediate layer 7 and the segment 2, 3 and the intermediate layer 7 are guided so as to be pressed against one another.

[0062] Track B is formed adjacent to the segment conveyor 17 for receiving segments 2, 3 and conveying the segments 2, 3 along the conveyor path F3. Track B is provided with a web material feed device B 29. The web material feed device B 29 has a conveyor element B 30 for conveying web material B 31 and a separating device B 32 for separating an intermediate layer 7 from the web material B 31. A composite material station B 33 is provided for dispensing composite material 34.

[0063] The device 16 has an application device B 35 for applying an intermediate layer 7 to the end face 12, 13 of the segment 2, 3.

[0064] The application device B 35 has a rotary conveyor B 37 which can be driven in rotation about a rotation axis B 36, which is arranged in particular transversely to the conveyor path F3, and which has one or more holding elements 38 for holding one or more intermediate layers 7.

[0065] The rotary conveyor B 37 has a circular track B 39 that is at least partially circular. The segment conveyor device 17, the conveying path F3, the rotary conveyor B 37, and the circular track B 39 are designed, configured, and aligned with one another such that the distance between the end face 12, 13 of a segment 2, 3 picked up by the segment conveyor device 17 and conveyed along the conveying path F3 and an intermediate layer 7 held by a holding element B 38 and conveyed on the circular track B 39 decreases until the end face 12, 13 of the segment 2, 3 comes into contact with the intermediate layer 7, and the segment 2, 3 and the intermediate layer 7 are guided so that they can be pressed against one another. Track A and track B are preferably constructed at least partially axially symmetrically to one another. Functionally identical components of track A and track B are preferably arranged at least partially opposite one another in each track or offset from one another in each track.

[0066] The segment conveyor device 17 comprises a rotary-driven drum with receiving troughs arranged equidistantly around the circumference and pressurized with vacuum via through-openings. A section of the drum is assigned to one or each track A, B. In a modification, the segment conveyor device 17 comprises a circulatingly driven conveyor belt with receiving troughs arranged equidistantly around the carrying side and pressurized with vacuum via through-openings. A section of the conveyor belt is assigned to one or each track A, B.

[0067] The conveyor element A 19 and / or the conveyor element B 30 are designed as a conveyor roller pair with conveyor rollers that can move towards and away from each other, and one or each track A, B is assigned a conveyor roller pair.

[0068] The separating device A 21 and / or the separating device B 32 are designed as a rotary-driven knife roller with knives arranged distributed over the circumference. A knife roller is assigned to one or each track A, B.

[0069] The composite station A 22 and / or the composite station B 33 have a roller applicator for dispensing and applying composite material using a rotating, driven roller circumferential surface. A roller applicator is assigned to one or each track A, B. In modifications, nozzle applicators can be provided for dispensing and applying composite material. A nozzle applicator is assigned to one or each track A, B.

[0070] The rotary conveyor 26 and / or the rotary conveyor B 37 has a rotationally driven, vacuum-loaded suction roll with holding elements arranged distributed over the circumference and designed as suction sections. One or each track A, B is assigned such a suction roll. In a modification, the rotary conveyor A 26 and / or the rotary conveyor B 37 has a circumferentially driven conveyor belt with receiving troughs arranged equidistantly over the carrying side and capable of being vacuum-loaded via through-openings. One or each track A, B can be assigned such a conveyor belt.

[0071] The segment conveyor device 17 is designed and configured to receive a double-length segment, preferably to receive a series of spaced-apart double-length segments.

[0072] The rotary conveyor A 26 and the rotary conveyor B 37 are arranged adjacent to each other. The minimum distance between the orbit A 28 and the orbit B 39 is in a range between 10 mm and 80 mm, preferably between 12 mm and 60 mm. This distance preferably corresponds to the length of a double-length segment 2, 3 less 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm, preferably less 0.07 mm to 0.8 mm.

[0073] The web material feed device 18 and / or the web material feed device B 29 are each provided with a web storage device and with a perforation device, wherein the respective perforation device is designed and configured to introduce through openings into the respective web material A, B, 20, 31, preferably at predeterminable distances from one another, preferably in the transverse direction and / or in the longitudinal direction of the transport direction of the respective web material.

[0074] Fig. 5 shows one to the Figure 4similar embodiment with a track A and a track B. In the embodiment according to Fig. 5 The composite stations 22 (A) and 33 (B) are provided with nozzle spraying units, which can be fed from a common supply, or, as a modification, from separate supplies. In this embodiment, the respective composite 23, 34 is applied to the respective intermediate layers 7, which were previously separated at the separation stations 21 and 32. If necessary, it can also be provided to provide the end surfaces 12, 13 of the segments 2, 3 and the intermediate layers 7 each with composite 23, 34 in order to achieve a better connection. For this purpose, the embodiments according to Fig. 4 and 5 be combined and modified accordingly.

[0075] In a modification of the above-described embodiments, an embodiment is designed with a single track. This can, for example, be a structure with track A or track B.

[0076] This embodiment comprises a device 16 for applying an intermediate layer 7 to an end face 12, 13 of a segment 2, 3 of a rod-shaped article 1 of the tobacco processing industry, having a track A or B, which is provided with a segment conveyor 17 for receiving segments 2, 3 and conveying the segments 2, 3 along a conveying path F3. It has a web material feed device 18 or 29, which has a conveying member 19 or 30 for conveying web material 20 or 31 and a separating device 21 or 32 for separating an intermediate layer 7 from the web material 20 or 31. It has a composite station 22 or 33 for dispensing composite material 23 or 34.It has an application device 24 or 35 for applying an intermediate layer 7 to the end face 12, 13 of the segment 2, 3. The application device 24 or 35 comprises a rotary conveyor 26 or 37 that can be driven to rotate around a rotation axis 25, 36, arranged in particular transversely to the conveying path F3, and has one or more holding elements 27 or 38 for holding one or more intermediate layers 7. The rotary conveyor 26 or 37 can have a circular orbit 28 or 39 that is at least partially circular.In this embodiment, the segment conveyor device 17, the conveyor path F3, the rotary conveyor 26 or 37 and the circulating track 28 or 39 can be designed, configured and aligned with one another in such a way that the distance between the end face 12, 13 of a segment 2, 3 picked up by the segment conveyor device 17 and conveyed along the conveyor path F3 and an intermediate layer 7 held by a holding element 27 or 38 and conveyed on the circulating track 28 or 39 decreases until the end face 12, 13 of the segment 2, 3 comes into contact with the intermediate layer 7 and the segment 2, 3 and the intermediate layer 7 are guided so as to be pressed against one another.

[0077] In Figure 61 shows an embodiment of a single-lane device 16 for applying an intermediate layer 7 to the end face of a spacer segment 3. The spacer segment 3 is transported in the conveying direction F3 and positioned vertically on a segment conveyor device 17, which is in the form of a special trough drum, in which the troughs can be tilted and / or positioned depending on the conveying position via a cam gear on the outer surface, or a conical drum. The segment conveyor device 17 can optionally convey one segment, in particular one spacer segment 3, or several segments arranged next to one another. For example, a segment arrangement consists of a filter segment 5 designed as a mouthpiece, a cooling element 4 and a spacer segment 3. This intermediate product is provided with an intermediate layer 7 during transport on the segment conveyor device 17.A web material 31 is provided and fed to a separating device 32 via the conveyor element 30, which is preferably designed as a pair of pull rollers. This separating device can be designed as a coating device, which cuts the intermediate layer 7 out of the web-like material 31 and transfers it to the application device 35, which applies the intermediate layer 7 to the end face of the rod-shaped product, in particular a spacer segment 3. A coating device 32 is optionally available. Figure 6 A composite station 33, not shown, is provided which optionally provides the web material 31, the intermediate layer 7 and / or the end face of the rod-shaped product, in particular the end face of the spacer segment 3, with a composite material 34.

[0078] In Figure 7 is a two-lane design of the Figure 6The segment conveyor device 17 is preferably designed as a trough drum and preferably transports a double-length spacer segment 3 or a double intermediate product consisting of several segments, wherein the outer end faces of the conveyed product are provided with an intermediate layer 7. In analogy to the device shown in Figure 4 and / or Figure 5 In the embodiment shown, two web materials 20, 31 (in Figure 7 (not shown) two trending devices 21, 32 and two application devices 24, 35. Due to the application of an intermediate layer 7 on both sides of the conveyed rod-shaped product, standing up or tilting the product is not necessarily advantageous, but is preferred in certain embodiments due to the design.

[0079] In Figure 8An embodiment of the device 16 for applying an intermediate layer 7 to a tobacco product, in particular a spacer segment 3, is shown. A web material 20 for producing an intermediate layer 7 is fed to the device 16 and is cut by a separating device 21, which is designed as a laser cutting device, into a specific embodiment of an intermediate layer 7, for example according to the Figure 2 or Figure 3shown intermediate layer 7, is cut. For this purpose, the web material 20 is held on a rotary conveyor 26, in particular by negative pressure, and fed to the separating device 21. The intermediate layer 7 thus separated from the web material 20 is preferably held on the rotary conveyor 26 by negative pressure, and the remainder of the material web 20 is conveyed away. In a preferred embodiment, the intermediate layer 7 is cut out of the web material 20 in such a way that the web-like structure of the web material 20 is retained and can be transported away, for example, by a winding device. The rotary conveyor 26 transfers the intermediate layer 7 alternately to the rotary conveyor 37 and to an application device 24. The rotary conveyor 37 transfers the intermediate layer 7 to an application device 35.In this embodiment, the application devices 24, 35 preferably each comprise a rotary conveyor with parallel rotation axes, wherein the application devices 24, 35 are preferably each operatively connected to a composite station 22, 33, so that the outward-facing side of the intermediate layer 7 is provided with a composite 23, 34, in particular a glue. The segment conveyor device 17, designed as a trough drum, conveys the tobacco product, in particular a double-length spacer segment 3, in order to apply the glued intermediate layers 7 to the end faces of the double-length spacer segment 3. After the application of the intermediate layers 7, the double-length spacer segment 3 is transported along the conveying direction F3 by the segment conveyor device 17 and transferred to downstream conveyor elements for further processing.

[0080] The Figure 9 The device shown is a modification of the one shown in Figure 8shown embodiment. For reasons of clarity, the Figure 8 The components of the device 16 described above are not repeated. The web material 20 is fed to a rotary conveyor 37 and, in contrast to the Figure 8 In the embodiment shown, the intermediate layer 7 is not cut out with a laser cutting device, but with a mechanical cutting device, in particular with a knife roller or a punching device. The further transport on the rotary conveyor 37, the transfer to the rotary conveyor 26 and the transfer to the application devices 24, 35 takes place analogously to the Figure 8 shown embodiment. Each application device 24, 35 is assigned a composite station 22, 33, which can optionally each have a plurality of application elements 61, 62, 63, 64. The number of application elements of each composite station 22, 33 can be variably adapted to the conditions of the device 16.

[0081] Figure 10 and Figure 11show further embodiments of the device 16 for applying an intermediate layer 7 to a tobacco product, in particular a spacer segment 3. In this embodiment, the intermediate layer 7 is provided by a web material 20, 31. The web material 20, 31 is characterized by a carrier material 60, on which the intermediate layer 7 is provided, preferably in a form prefabricated for application. The deflection rollers 53, 54, 55, 56 align the web material 20, 31 with the segment conveyor device 17 for applying the intermediate layer 7. The segment conveyor device 17 is designed as a trough drum and has two wobble plates 70, 71, by means of which the intermediate layer 7 is applied, in particular pressed, onto the end face of the double-length spacer segment 3 located on the segment conveyor device 17.After reaching the wobble plates 70, 71, the web material 20, 31 is deflected by a deflection device 57, 58, preferably a deflection roller or a deflection mandrel, preferably by an angle between 70° and 180°, particularly preferably between 90° and 180°, so that the intermediate layer 7 is detached and / or removed from the carrier material 60 by the deflection. Figure 10The deflection shown corresponds to an angle of essentially 180°. This is preferably an intermediate layer 7 formed with a one-sided adhesive surface, which is detached from the carrier material 60 by the deflection of the carrier material 60 and conveyed to the end face of the spacer segment 3 by a holder 72, which holds the intermediate layer 7 to the wobble plate, preferably by suction air. As soon as the double-length spacer segment 3 is fed to the segment conveyor device 17, the distance between the two wobble plates 70, 71 decreases and the intermediate layer 7 is applied to the end faces of the double-length spacer segment 3. The double-length spacer segment 3, which is provided with an intermediate layer on both sides, is then transferred to further conveyor devices or processing devices.

[0082] Alternatively to the Figure 10In the device shown, the application of the intermediate layer 7 to a single- or double-length spacer segment 3 can be carried out not exclusively via the wobble plates 70, 71, but alternatively can be applied directly from the carrier material 60 to the end face of the spacer segment 3. For this purpose, a deflection roller, a deflection device, or a deflection mandrel 57, 58 is arranged such that the application to the end face of the spacer segment 3 takes place directly during or after the separation of the intermediate layer 7 from the carrier material 60. The deflection device is preferably arranged and designed to press the intermediate layer 7 onto the end face of the spacer segment 3.

[0083] A further embodiment of a method for applying an intermediate layer 7 to the end face 12, 13 of a segment 2, 3 of a rod-shaped article 1 of the tobacco processing industry, which is independent of the others, comprises the following steps: Providing a segment 2, 3, in particular a tobacco-containing segment and / or a hollow filter segment, Providing an intermediate layer 7, in particular providing a web-shaped wrapping material, in particular a wrapping material 40 containing paper and / or aluminum, characterized by arranging the intermediate layer 7, in particular in a single layer, on an end face 12, 13 of the provided segment 2, 3 and in particular wrapping it with the provided web-shaped wrapping material 40, wherein the provided segment 2, 3 is conveyed, in particular transversely axially, in the conveying direction F3 and is rotated by at least 30°, 45°, 60° or 90° about a rotation axis,wherein in particular the axis of rotation is aligned parallel to the conveying direction F3 of the segments 2, 3.,

[0084] In this application, the terms "front surface" and "front side" are used synonymously. In case of doubt, the term "front surface" should not be understood solely as a physically existing surface filled with material, but should also include any "empty areas."

Claims

1. Rod-shaped smoking article (1) from the tobacco processing industry comprising at least two longitudinally-axially arranged segments (2, 3) which are interconnected by a wrapping structure (40), the smoking article (1) having the following: a. a mouth-side end (8) and a distal end (9) opposite the mouth-side end, b. a first segment (2) comprising a tobacco-containing substrate, preferably arranged directly at the distal end (9) of the smoking article (1), c. a second segment (3), in particular arranged adjacent to the first segment (2), with an outer lateral surface, a cavity (6) arranged in the longitudinal-axial direction and an inner lateral surface and d. an intermediate layer (7), preferably completely or partially consisting of paper, aluminum, plastic, metal and / or tobacco-containing film, which has a thickness and a surface area, e. wherein the intermediate layer (7) is arranged between the end faces (12, 13) of two adjacent segments (2, 3), in particular between the first segment (2) and the second segment (3), the intermediate layer (7) being arranged between the end faces (12, 13) of two adjacent segments (2, 3) such that the longitudinal-axial projection of the intermediate layer (7) only covers a region of the end faces (12, 13), characterized in that the intermediate layer (7) has an upper side and a lower side and the upper side and / or lower side is bonded by a bonding material (23, 34), in particular a liquid, an adhesive, a glue or a pasty material, to an end face (12, 13) of a segment (2, 3) adjacent to the intermediate layer (7), in particular the upper side is bonded to an end face (13) of the second segment (3) and / or the lower side is bonded to an end face (12) of the first segment (2), in that the intermediate layer (7) is provided at least in part with openings (14), in particular a perforation (15), wherein in particular the total surface area of the openings (14) is between 5 mm2 and 25 mm2, preferably between 10 mm2 and 15 mm2, and in that each edge portion of the intermediate layer (7) has a radial distance from the wrapping structure (40), in particular greater than 0.2 mm.

2. Rod-shaped smoking article (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a mouthpiece (5), in particular a filter segment, is arranged at the mouth-side end (8) of the smoking article (1).

3. Rod-shaped smoking article (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first segment (2) comprises at least partially crimped tobacco-containing film, tobacco-containing film cut into strips or snippets of tobacco-containing film and / or the second segment (3) is designed as a hollow body, in particular as an NWA hollow filter or as a hollow acetate filter provided with one or two wrapping layers (10).

4. Method for applying an intermediate layer (7) to the end face (12, 13) of a segment (2, 3) of a rod-shaped article (1) from the tobacco processing industry, comprising the following steps: a. providing a segment (2, 3), in particular a tobacco-containing segment and / or a hollow-filter segment, b. providing an intermediate layer (7), c. in particular providing a web-like wrapping material, in particular wrapping material (40) containing paper and / or aluminum, d. arranging the intermediate layer (7), in particular in a single layer, on an end face (12, 13) of the provided segment (2, 3) and e. in particular wrapping with the provided web-like wrapping material (40), characterized in that the intermediate layer (7) is provided as a portion of a web material (20, 31) or on a web-like carrier material (60), in that the intermediate layer (7) is provided at least in part with openings (14), in particular a perforation (15), wherein in particular the total surface area of the openings (14) is between 5 mm2 and 25 mm2, preferably between 10 mm2 and 15 mm2, in that an end face (12, 13) of the provided segment (2, 3) and / or the intermediate layer (7), in particular the lower side and / or upper side of the intermediate layer (7), is supplied with a bonding material (23, 34), in particular a liquid, an adhesive, a glue or a pasty material, and in that in a further method step the portion is separated from the provided web material, in particular cut, lasered, torn or punched, and spaced apart from the web material (20, 31).

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that in a further method step, the intermediate layer (7) is separated from the carrier material (60), in particular peeled off or detached, and spaced apart from the carrier material (60).

6. Method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the intermediate layer (7) is arranged on an end face (12, 13) of the provided segment (2, 3), in particular bonded to the end face (12, 13).

7. Method according to claim 4, 5 or 6, characterized in that the intermediate layer (7) is held and / or conveyed by negative pressure during and / or after the separation process.

8. Device (16) for attaching an intermediate layer (7) to an end face (12, 13) of a segment (2, 3) of a rod-shaped article (1) from the tobacco processing industry, comprising a track (A, B) provided with a segment conveying means (17) for receiving segments (2, 3) and conveying the segments (2, 3) along a conveying path (F3), comprising a web material feed means (18, 29) having a conveying element (19, 30) for conveying web material (20, 31) and a separating device (21, 32) for separating an intermediate layer (7) from the web material (20, 31), comprising a bonding material station (22, 33) for dispensing bonding material (23, 34) and comprising an application means (24, 35) for applying an intermediate layer (7) to the end face (12, 13) of the segment (2, 3), wherein the application means (24, 35) has a rotary conveyor (26, 37) which can be driven in circulation about a rotational axis (25, 36), arranged in particular transversely to the conveying path (F3), and which has one or more holding elements (27, 38) for holding one or more intermediate layers (7), and the rotary conveyor (26, 37) has an at least partially circular circulation path (28, 39), and wherein the segment conveying means (17), the conveying path (F3), the rotary conveyor (26, 37) and the circulation path (28, 39) are designed, set up and aligned with one another in such a way that the distance between the end face (12, 13) of a segment (2, 3) received by the segment conveying means (17) and conveyed along the conveying path (F3) and an intermediate layer (7) held by a holding element (27, 38) held and conveyed on the circulation path (28, 39) decreases until the end face (12, 13) of the segment (2, 3) comes into contact with the intermediate layer (7) and the segment (2, 3) and the intermediate layer (7) are guided so that they can be pressed against one another.

9. Device according to claim 8, characterized by a two-track design with a track A and a track B, wherein the track A is arranged on one side A of the conveying path (F3) and the track B is arranged on the side B opposite the side A, track A is formed adjacent to the segment conveying means (17) for receiving segments (2, 3) and conveying the segments (2, 3) along the conveying path (F3), and track A is provided with a web material feed means A (18) having a conveying element A (19) for conveying web material A (20) and a separating device A (21) for separating an intermediate layer (7) from the web material A (20), comprising a bonding material station A (22) for dispensing bonding material A (23) and comprising an application means A (24) for applying an intermediate layer (7) to the end face (12, 13) of the segment (2, 3), wherein the application means A (24) has a rotary conveyor A (26) which can be driven in circulation about a rotational axis A (25), arranged in particular transversely to the conveying path (F3), and which has one or more holding elements A (27) for holding one or more intermediate layers (7) and the rotary conveyor A (26) has an at least partially circular circulation path A (28), and wherein the segment conveying means (17), the conveying path (F3), the rotary conveyor A (26) and the circulation path A (28) are designed, set up and aligned with one another in such a way that the distance between the end face (12, 13) of a segment ( ) received by the segment conveying means (17) and conveyed along the conveying path (F3) and an intermediate layer (7) held by a holding element A (27) and conveyed on the circulation path A (28) decreases until the end face (12, 13) of the segment (2, 3) comes into contact with the intermediate layer (7) and the segment (2, 3) and the intermediate layer (7) are guided so that they can be pressed against one another, and track B is formed adjacent to the segment conveying means (17) for receiving segments (2, 3) and conveying the segments (2, 3) along the conveying path (F3), and track B is provided with a web material feed means B (29) having a conveying element B (30) for conveying web material B (31) and a separating device B (32) for separating an intermediate layer (7) from the web material B (31), comprising a bonding material station B (33) for dispensing bonding material B (34) and comprising an application means B (35) for applying an intermediate layer (7) to the end face (12, 13) of the segment (2, 3), wherein the application means B (35) has a rotary conveyor B (37) which can be driven in circulation about a rotational axis B (36), arranged in particular transversely to the conveying path (F3), and which has one or more holding elements (38) for holding one or more intermediate layers (7), and the rotary conveyor B (37) has an at least partially circular circulation path B (39), and wherein the segment conveying means (17), the conveying path (F3), the rotary conveyor B (37) and the circulation path B (39) are designed, set up and aligned with one another in such a way that the distance between the end face (12, 13) of a segment (2, 3) received by the segment conveying means (17) and conveyed along the conveying path (F3) and an intermediate layer (7) held by a holding element B (38) and conveyed on the circulation path B (39) decreases until the end face (12, 13) of the segment (2, 3) comes into contact with the intermediate layer (7) and the segment (2, 3) and the intermediate layer (7) are guided so that they can be pressed against one another, wherein track A and track B are preferably constructed at least partially axially symmetrically to one another and functionally identical components of track A and track B are preferably arranged at least partially opposite one another track by track or offset from one another track by track.

10. Device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the segment conveying means (17) has a rotationally drivable drum with receiving recesses which are arranged so as to be equidistantly distributed over the circumference and can be supplied with a vacuum via passage openings and a portion of the drum is assigned to one or each track A, B, or has a conveyor belt which can be driven in circulation and has receiving recesses which are arranged so as to be equidistantly distributed over the carrying side and can be supplied with a vacuum via passage openings and a portion of the conveyor belt is assigned to one or each track A, B.

11. Device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the conveying element A (19) and / or the conveying element B (30) are designed as a conveying roller pair with conveying rollers that can move towards and away from each other, and a conveying roller pair is assigned to one or each track A, B.

12. Device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the separating device A (21) and / or the separating device B (32) are designed as a rotationally drivable knife roller with knives arranged so as to be distributed over the circumference and a knife roller is assigned to one or each track A, B.

13. Device according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that the bonding material station A (22) and / or the bonding material station B (33) has a roller application means for dispensing and applying bonding material A, B (23, 34) by means of a roller circumferential surface driven in circulation and a roller application means is assigned to one or each track A, B, or has a nozzle application means for dispensing and applying bonding material A, B (23, 34) and a nozzle application means is assigned to one or each track A, B.

14. Device according to any one of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the rotary conveyor A (26) and / or the rotary conveyor B (37) has a rotationally drivable suction roller that can be supplied with a vacuum and has holding elements (27, 38) arranged so as to be distributed over the circumference and designed as suction portions and such a suction roller is assigned to one or each track A, B, or has a conveyor belt that can be driven in circulation and has receiving recesses which are arranged so as to be equidistantly distributed over the carrying side and can be supplied with a vacuum via passage openings and such a conveyor belt is assigned to one or each track A, B.

15. Device according to any one of claims 8 to 14, characterized in that the segment conveying means (17) is designed and set up to receive a double-length segment, preferably a series of double-length segments spaced apart one after the other.

16. Device according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that the rotary conveyor A (26) and the rotary conveyor B (37) are arranged adjacent to one another and the minimum distance between the circulation path A (28) and the circulation path B (39) is in a range between 10 mm and 80 mm, preferably between 12 mm and 60 mm, and preferably corresponds to the length of a double-length segment (2, 3) minus 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm, preferably minus 0.07 mm to 0.8 mm.

17. Device according to any one of claims 8 to 16, characterized in that the web material feed means (A, B, 18, 29) or the web material feed means A (18) and / or the web material feed means B (29) are each provided with a web store and with a perforation means, the relevant perforation means being designed and set up to introduce passage openings into the relevant web material (A, B, 20, 31), preferably at predeterminable distances from one another, preferably in the transverse direction and / or in the longitudinal direction of the transport direction of the relevant web material.