Insertion device and rod making machine for the tobacco processing industry

Abstract

The invention relates to an insertion device (10) which is designed to insert rod-shaped articles (11, 11') from the tobacco processing industry into a line (12) of the tobacco processing industry or to lay them against a line (12) of the tobacco processing industry at least one trough (13) for accommodating rod-shaped articles (11, 11') of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filter segments, the at least one trough (13) having a longitudinal extension and the trough (13) having a suction air opening (14, 14 ', 14", 14'"), which is further developed in that at least two suction air openings (14-14'") are provided, which are separated from one another by a web (15, 15', 15").

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a stranding machine for the tobacco processing industry with an insertion device designed to introduce rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry into or onto a strand of the tobacco processing industry, with at least one recess for receiving rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filter segments, wherein the at least one recess has a longitudinal extension and wherein the recess has a suction air opening.

[0002] With appropriate insertion devices, also known as insertion wheels, rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filter segments, are transferred from a transverse axial conveying direction to a longitudinal axial conveying direction by means of a rotational movement in order to form a strand of these rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry.

[0003] Such a device is known, for example, from DE 28 09 160 A1. There, a feed wheel serves to deliver filter plugs, which are dispensed transversely onto the feed wheel, longitudinally into a strand formed on a formatting device. The feed wheel or feed device shown there has corresponding supports that are pivotably or rotatably mounted. The supports have receptacles or recesses into which the filter plugs can be inserted and are usually held in place by suction. For this purpose, a suction slot is provided in the receptacle.

[0004] DE 25 34 666 A1 discloses a device for manufacturing combined filter plugs for filter cigarettes or other rod-shaped articles for the tobacco processing industry. Several suction openings are provided to hold a rod in place.

[0005] DE 25 47 920 A1 discloses a method and a device for longitudinally arranging filter plugs on a strip of covering material. Here too, several suction air openings are provided for holding a rod.

[0006] EP 2 641 486 A1 discloses a device for transferring parts of filter rods or cigarette sticks.

[0007] It has now been established that the absence of a rod-shaped item during handover can lead to uncontrolled handovers.

[0008] It is therefore an object of the present invention to further develop a known extrusion machine in such a way that a very high process reliability or a very precise transfer of rod-shaped articles from a transverse conveying direction into a longitudinally conveyed extrusion or to a longitudinally conveyed extrusion is enabled.

[0009] This problem is solved by a stranding machine of the tobacco processing industry with an insertion device according to claim 1.

[0010] The extrusion machine according to the invention minimizes the risk that, in the event of a missing rod-shaped article, for example, a filter segment, the suction air will collapse in a trough of the insertion device to such an extent that other rod-shaped articles arranged or received in the trough can no longer be held, or can no longer be held precisely, so that they may be inserted into or attached to the extrusion at incorrect positions. This can lead, in particular, to extrusion breakage and machine downtime. To reduce the impact of a missing rod-shaped article, for example, a missing filter segment, on the process, at least two suction air openings separated from each other by a bridge are provided.

[0011] In this case, the suction air openings are preferably completely separated from each other by the respective bridge, or the suction air openings are not connected to each other.

[0012] Preferably, the recess has a support surface in which a rod-shaped article placed in the recess rests, wherein the web, in particular longitudinally, is aligned with the support surface, such that a rod-shaped article placed in the recess rests against the web.

[0013] Preferably, the web or webs are adapted to the contour of the recess, in particular their depth being aligned with the rest of the recess's contour, especially longitudinally. For example, if the recess has a circular segment in cross-section, the web is also circular segment in cross-section. Other shapes are also possible. Preferably, a shape will be selected that is adapted to the shape of the rod-shaped articles, with a complementary shape of the recess or the webs to the rod-shaped articles to be transported or transferred being provided.

[0014] According to the invention, the at least one trough is arranged on a gondola, wherein, in the event of a rotation of the insertion device about an axis of rotation, a movement, in particular pivoting, of the gondola is provided which ensures a parallel alignment of the at least one trough.

[0015] Within the scope of the invention, the word gondola can also be replaced by carrier.

[0016] The axis of rotation of the gondola is preferably parallel to the axis of rotation of the insertion device.

[0017] Preferably, the loading device has several gondolas. The gondolas can be equipped with a trough to, for example, feed rod-shaped articles into a strand. However, two or more troughs arranged side by side, preferably parallel to each other, can also be provided per gondola to supply two or more strands with rod-shaped articles for the tobacco processing industry, particularly simultaneously.

[0018] According to the invention, each suction air opening of a gondola can be switched individually. For switching purposes, a valve can be provided, or a separate valve can be provided for each suction air opening. By switching, the suction air can be turned on or off. This enables a very high level of process reliability.

[0019] The valve(s) can preferably be arranged in each gondola or in one or more suction air lines within a loading device. The valves can also be located upstream of or away from a loading device. It can also be provided that one valve can switch a first suction air opening in a first gondola and a second gondola on and off, and correspondingly, a second valve can switch a second suction air opening in a first gondola and a second suction air opening in a second gondola on and off, and correspondingly, one or more valves are provided for further suction air openings in one or more gondolas. This will be explained in more detail in connection with the figures.

[0020] Preferably, a suction air opening is provided for each rod-shaped article, whereby in particular the rod-shaped article can be inserted or is inserted into the recess.

[0021] The problem is further solved by a stranding machine of the tobacco processing industry with an insertion device according to the invention, wherein rod-shaped articles can be placed or are placed on a formatting device or a conveying device by means of the insertion device, so that a strand of rod-shaped articles is formed.

[0022] Preferably, at least one trough is arranged parallel to the strand or the formatting device.

[0023] Preferably, a suction air reservoir is provided from which the suction air channels are supplied with suction air or can be supplied with suction air.

[0024] Preferably, each suction air duct of a gondola is assigned a valve. Preferably, one valve can be provided for each suction air duct of several gondolas.

[0025] When transferring rod-shaped articles, especially filter segments, from a rotational movement to a longitudinal conveying direction using a carrier or gondola with a trough, there is a risk that the holding air will collapse if one or more rod-shaped articles or segments are missing from the trough. If the negative pressure or suction required to hold the rod-shaped articles in the trough decreases too much, a significant process risk arises because the remaining rod-shaped articles or segments can no longer be held on or in the trough. In this case, one or more further segments may fall out of the trough, leading to a strand break and consequently a machine stoppage.

[0026] According to the invention, two or more separate suction channels or suction air openings are incorporated into the trough.

[0027] The channels prevent the negative pressure or suction air from collapsing completely in the trough or gondola, thus ensuring that remaining segments or rod-shaped items are held securely within the process. The suction air openings or channels can be evenly distributed or uniformly sized, or their size can be adapted to the individual rod-shaped items being received or conveyed. For example, a larger rod-shaped item can be assigned a larger suction air opening than a smaller one. Similarly, heavier rod-shaped items can have larger suction air openings than lighter ones.

[0028] An additional surprising effect of this type of trough design in a corresponding insertion device is that it results in an increased friction surface between the rod-shaped articles and the trough, thus improving the insertion process into or onto a strand. The ribs in the trough provide additional stability. Preferably, an edge that closes off the trough in the longitudinal direction is also reinforced to enable precise placement of the rod-shaped articles into or onto the strand.

[0029] Further features of the invention will become apparent from the description of embodiments according to the invention, together with the claims and the accompanying drawings. Embodiments according to the invention may fulfill individual features or a combination of several features.

[0030] The invention is described below, without limiting the general concept of the invention, with reference to exemplary embodiments and the drawings, whereby for all details of the invention not explained in detail in the text, explicit reference is made to the drawings. The drawings show: Fig. 1 a schematic view of a typical extrusion machine of the tobacco processing industry, Fig. 2 a schematic view of a gondola of an insertion device from below, Fig. 3 a schematic view of a section through a gondola of an insertion device and Fig. 4 a schematic representation of a suction air distribution.

[0031] In the drawings, identical or similar elements and / or parts are provided with the same reference numbers, so that a re-presentation is omitted.

[0032] Fig. 1Figure 1 schematically shows a view of a stranding machine 21 for the tobacco processing industry. For example, a filter stranding machine is shown. Filter segments 11, 11' are fed into troughs 13 of gondolas 17 of a loading device 10 by a transfer device (not shown). The loading device 10 rotates in the direction of the arrow about an axis of rotation 18. The gondolas 17 are each mounted on axes of rotation 19, so that when the loading device 10 rotates, the orientation of the troughs 13 remains the same, in particular parallel to the formed strand 12 or a path of the formatting device 22.

[0033] The recorded filter segments 11, 11' are transferred longitudinally into a strand 12. For this purpose, the filter segments 11, 11' are placed onto a strip of wrapping material 35, which is mounted on a format belt 34. The format belt 34 moves in the direction of the arrow, i.e., in Fig. 1from right to left, through the formatting device 22, so that a strip of wrapping material 35 is wrapped around the strand 12 in the formatting device 22, coated with adhesive as usual, and sealed. The strand 12 is then cut to length by a cutting device 33 into filter rods of the desired working length, for example, twice the working length.

[0034] The insertion device 10 has gondolas 17 which are in Fig. 2The following are shown schematically in a view from below. A recess 13 is shown, which has a contact surface 16 against which the rod-shaped articles 11, 11' are placed. Four suction air openings 14, 14', 14", 14'" are also shown, each separated from the other by webs 15, 15', 15"". The webs 15, 15', 15" are preferably at the same height as the contact surface 16 or are flush with it, so that when filter segments 11, 11' are placed in the recess 13, essentially no suction air is drawn past the webs 15, 15', 15" because the filter segments 11, 11' form a seal with the contact surface 16.

[0035] The suction air openings 14, 14', 14", 14'" are connected to suction air ducts 20, 20', 20", 20'" which each run separately in the gondola 17. The corresponding separation of these suction air ducts 20-20'" is shown in Fig. 3depicted once again, in which a schematic section through a corresponding gondola 17 is shown, approximately along line AA from Fig. 2 It can be seen that the suction air ducts 20-20'" are separated from each other by walls.

[0036] Fig. 4 Figure 1 schematically shows a suction air diagram according to the invention. A relatively large suction air reservoir 30 is shown, from which four suction air lines 32-32'" branch off. Valves 31-31'" are connected to these suction air lines 32-32'", to which the suction air channels 20-20" are connected, and then a recess 13, which is provided with corresponding suction air openings 14-14'".

[0037] The valves 31-31'" can also be arranged in the suction air lines 32-32'' or at the suction air reservoir 30 before the suction air lines 32-32'" begin.

[0038] The suction air lines 32-32'" can also be branched, specifically in the insertion device 10, and supply several gondolas 17 with suction air, or supply several suction air channels 20-20'" with suction air. The valves 31-31'" can be arranged in the respective gondola 17 itself or between the respective gondola 17 and the suction air reservoir 30. Within the scope of the invention, features marked 'in particular' or 'preferably' are to be understood as optional features. Reference symbol list

[0039] 10 Insertion device 11, 11' Filter segment 12 Filter strand 13 Trough 14, 14', 14", 14'" Suction air opening 15, 15', 15" Bridge 16 Mounting surface 17 Gondola 18 Rotation axis 19 Rotation axis 20, 20', 20", 20'" Suction air duct 21 Stranding machine 22 Formatting device 30 Suction air reservoir 31, 31', 31", 31'" Valve 32, 32', 32", 32'" Suction air line 33 Cutting device 34 Formatting belt 35 Wrapping material strip

Claims

1. A rod maker (21) for the tobacco processing industry with an insertion device (10) , wherein the insertion device (10) which is designed to introduce rod-shaped articles (11, 11') for the tobacco processing industry into a rod (12) for the tobacco processing industry or to place them on a rod (12) for the tobacco processing industry, with at least one groove (13) for receiving rod-shaped articles (11, 11') for the tobacco processing industry, in particular filter segments, wherein the at least one groove (13) has a longitudinal extension and wherein the groove (13) has a suction air opening (14, 14', 14", 14"'), wherein at least two suction air openings (14-14"') are provided in the groove (13) and are separated from each other by a web (15, 15', 15"), characterized in that a suction air channel (20, 20', 20", 20‴) is provided for each suction air opening (14-14‴), wherein the at least one groove (13) is arranged on a gondola (17), wherein a movement of the gondola (17) is provided when the insertion device (10) is rotated about a rotational axis (18), which ensures a parallel alignment of the at least one groove (13), wherein each suction air opening (14-14‴) of a gondola (17) can be individually switched, wherein rod-shaped articles (11, 11') can be placed onto or are placed onto a format device (21) or a conveying device by means of the insertion device (10) so that a rod (12) of rod-shaped articles (11, 11') is formed.

2. The rod maker according to claim 1, characterized in that the groove (13) has a contact surface (16) against which a rod-shaped article (11, 11') introduced into the groove (13) abuts, wherein the web (15, 15', 15") is aligned with the contact surface (16) such that a rod-shaped article (11, 11') introduced into the groove (13) abuts the web (15, 15', 15").

3. The rod maker according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a suction air opening (14-14‴) is provided for each rod-shaped article (11, 11').

4. The rod maker (21) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the at least one groove (13) is arranged parallel to the rod (12) or the format device (22).

5. The rod maker (21) according to one of claims 1 to4, characterized in that a suction air stock (30) is provided from which the suction air channels (20-20‴) are supplied with suction air.

6. The rod maker (21) according to claim 5, characterized in that a valve (31-31"') is assigned to each suction air channel (20-20‴) of a gondola (17).

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