Method and device for applying tear strips onto a running material web

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for applying tear strips (10) onto a running material web (11) in order to form casings for groups of products of the cigarette industry. A running material strip (16) for tear strips (10) is drawn from a bobbin (20), preferably in a continuous manner, and tear strips (10) of a specified length are detached from the material strip and are applied onto the running material web (11) in spaced relation to each other. According to the invention, the material strips (16) are brought into contact with the lateral surface (21) of an application drum (19), which has a polygonal cross-section and is preferably driven in an intermittent manner, such that the material strip (16) side which is provided with adhesive faces outwards, a tear strip (10) is then detached from the material strip (16) on the circumference of the application drum (19), and the material web (11) is then preferably moved towards the lateral surface (21) of the application drum (19) such that the detached tear strip (10) is applied onto the material web (11) by means of adhesion.

Description

[0001] Method and device for applying tear strips to a continuous

[0002] Material track

[0003] Description

[0004] The invention relates to a method for applying tear strips to a continuous material web for producing wrappers for groups of products in the cigarette industry, wherein a continuous strip of material for tear strips is preferably continuously drawn off a reel, from which tear strips of a predetermined length are cut out, which are then applied to the continuous material web at a distance from one another, according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0005] Furthermore, the invention relates to a corresponding device according to the preamble of claim 16.

[0006] Devices and methods of this type are known in practice in numerous variants. The invention is based on the object of further developing corresponding devices and methods, in particular, of providing at least further variants or alternatives.

[0007] A method for achieving this object has the features of claim 1. It is accordingly provided that the material strip is brought into contact with the outer surface of a laying drum which is polygonal in cross section and is preferably driven in cycles, so that a side of the material strip provided with adhesive faces outwards, and that a tear strip is then severed from the material strip on the circumference of the laying drum, and that the material web is then preferably moved against the outer surface of the laying drum in such a way that the severed tear strip is attached to the material web by adhesive bonding.

[0008] Preferably, it can be provided that the continuous material strip is provided with a gripping tip at predetermined intervals before being fed to the application drum and thus before the tear strips are applied to the material web,

[0009] Furthermore, it can be provided that the separating cut for separating a tear strip from the material web is made at a short distance from the gripping tip.

[0010] It can be expediently provided that the outer surface of the laying drum, which has a polygonal cross-section, is formed by a (corresponding) number of flat side surfaces arranged at an angle to one another,

[0011] A special feature may be that the length of the flat side surfaces in the circumferential direction essentially corresponds to the specified length of the tear strips.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, it can be provided that the application drum is driven step by step and, during a short standstill phase of the application drum, the material web is pressed against a facing side surface of the application drum, so that the tear strip is glued to the material web, while the side surface and the material web are arranged (essentially) in planes aligned parallel to one another.

[0013] Another special feature may be that the material web is continuously fed to the lay-up drum and is briefly stopped in the area of ​​the lay-up drum in order to press the material web against the tear strip provided, and that the material web is then continuously transported (away) again.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, it can be provided for this purpose that the material web is guided in the area of ​​the application drum over deflection rollers which are pivoted to briefly stop the material web and which are pivoted back again after the tear strip has been applied in order to (once again) continuously convey the material web.

[0015] Furthermore, it can be provided that during the short standstill of the material web, incisions and / or punchings are made on the material web, in particular for tear cuts in the area of ​​the gripping tips or for ventilation holes.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, it can be provided that the tear strips are attached to the material web with their longitudinal extent pointing transversely to the longitudinal extent of the material web.

[0017] It is preferably provided that the material strip or one or more tear strips separated therefrom are held by means of a vacuum on the outer surface of the application drum, in particular a side surface thereof, and that the vacuum is temporarily deactivated, in particular only in the region of a side surface facing the material web, in order to apply a tear strip to the material web.

[0018] Furthermore, it is preferably provided that the material strip is fed in two webs from two reels and transferred to laying drums operating in parallel to one another and that the tear strips are applied to the material web simultaneously and in parallel at a distance from one another by one of the two laying drums.

[0019] In this case, it can be provided that when one of the two reels is changed, the process is operated in a single lane at a different speed.

[0020] For example, it is conceivable that the drive speed of the one remaining reel is increased to maintain the output of the two previously active tracks. However, it is also conceivable that the drive speed of the one remaining reel remains unchanged, which halves the output.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the material web may be made of paper or substantially of paper. In particular, the gripping tip may also be made of paper or substantially of paper.

[0022] A device according to the invention has the features of claim 16. It is accordingly characterized by a laying drum with a polygonal cross-section, against the outer surface of which the material strip can be brought into contact so that a side of the material strip provided with adhesive faces outwards, and in that the device is designed to separate a tear strip from the material strip on the circumference of the laying drum and then to move the material web against the outer surface of the laying drum in such a way that the separated tear strip is attached to the material web by adhesive.

[0023] It is preferably provided that a laying station for gripping tips is arranged on the material strip upstream of the laying drum, wherein the laying station is designed to separate gripping tips from a material web and to attach them to the material strip at intervals from one another.

[0024] Furthermore, it can be provided that a cutting station is arranged on the circumference of the laying drum, which is designed to separate individual tear strips from the material strip held on the outer surface of the laying drum.

[0025] In particular, it can be provided that a lifting table is arranged on the circumference of the laying drum, over which the material web is guided, wherein the lifting table is movable in the direction of the outer surface of the laying drum in order to move the material web against the outer surface of the laying drum and in doing so to fasten a tear strip to the material web by means of adhesive.

[0026] A special feature can be that the continuously transportable material web is guided over pivoting deflection rollers in the area of ​​the feed drum, in such a way that by pivoting the deflection rollers the material web can be brought to a standstill briefly in the area of ​​the feed drum or in the area of ​​the lifting table in order to apply a tear strip to the stationary material web.

[0027] The invention is explained below with reference to two exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a material web with tear strips in a three-dimensional schematic representation,

[0028] Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of a material web with

[0029] Tear strip in a representation according to Fig. 1,

[0030] Fig. 3 a schematic spatial representation of the attachment of

[0031] Gripping tabs on a material strip for tear strips,

[0032] Fig. 4 is a schematic spatial representation of the installation of a

[0033] tear strip on a material web and the subsequent application of tear cuts,

[0034] Fig. 5 is a side view of a device for attaching

[0035] Material strips on a material web,

[0036] Fig. 6 and 7 show a vertical section through the device along section line VI - VI in Fig. 5 in successive phases of the process sequence,

[0037] Fig. 8 and 9 a schematic side view of a device for applying the gripping tips to the material web in successive phases of the process,

[0038] Fig. 10 and 11 show a schematic representation of the application of the material strips to a material web in successive phases of the process.

[0039] The embodiments shown in the drawings relate to the application of tear strips 10 to a material web 11 for wrapping a group of products in the cigarette industry.

[0040] For the purposes of the application, products of the cigarette industry are understood to include tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigarillos and the like, but also novel tobacco products such as heat-not-burn products or liquid carriers for e-cigarettes.

[0041] Such products are typically assembled into a cuboid-shaped group and provided with a wrapping made of packaging material to protect the contents. An inner pack formed in this way can be placed within a particularly rigid outer pack. The packaging material for the inner pack can consist of a film, paper, or essentially paper.

[0042] To enable the packaging to be opened, the attachment of tear strips 10 is a common measure. Typically, the tear strip 10 is glued to the packaging. For this purpose, the tear strip 10 can be provided with an adhesive on one side. A grip tab 12 of the tear strip 10 allows the consumer to grasp one end of the tear strip 10 and open the packaging with the tear strip 10.

[0043] Both tear strips 10 and grip tabs 13 can consist of a film or of paper or essentially of paper.

[0044] In the present case, tear strips 10 with grip tabs 12 are applied to a continuous material web 11 for such wrappings. In one embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the tear strips 10 or their grip tabs 12 terminate at a longitudinal edge 13 of the material web 11. In a second embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the tear strips 10 or their grip tabs 12 protrude beyond the edge of the material web 11 at a longitudinal edge 13.

[0045] In both cases, the tear strips 10 with grip tabs 12 are applied transversely to the longitudinal direction of the material web 11 according to arrow 14. The tear strips 10 with grip tabs 12 thus run transversely to the separating cut 15 to be made later on the material web 11 in order to separate individual blanks for a wrapping from the material web 11. Fig. 3 shows the process sequence for applying grip tabs 13 to a continuous material strip 16. Grip tabs 13 are applied at intervals to the material strip 16 and later, individual tear strips 10 with grip tabs 13 are separated from the material strip using a separating knife 17.

[0046] Fig. 4 shows that the tear strips 10 are not (as one might assume) attached to the material web 11, but rather the material web 11 is moved against the tear strips 10. In doing so, the adhesive-coated side of the tear strip 10 comes into contact with the material web 12, so that the two are bonded together.

[0047] In the area of ​​the gripping tip 12, the tear strip 10 is not bonded to the material web 11, since the gripping tip 12 covers the adhesive on the tear strip 10.

[0048] The material web 11 provided with the tear strips 10 is then provided with tear cuts 18 on both sides of the grip tabs 12 during transport. However, this is only necessary in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, since otherwise the grip tab 12 would be difficult for the consumer to grasp. In the second embodiment shown in Fig. 2, tear cuts 18 can be applied optionally, especially if the lateral overhang is not large enough.

[0049] Fig. 5 to 11 show a possible constructive implementation of the method described so far.

[0050] As a central element, the device shown has one or more application drums 19. These serve to pull the material strip 16, which is provided with gripping tips 12 at intervals, from reels 20 and to attach it to the material web 11.

[0051] In the present embodiment, the device operates on two tracks, therefore two reels 20 with material strips 16 are provided in mutually offset planes. A material strip 16 is drawn from each reel 20 and provided with gripping tabs 12 at intervals. The material strips 16 thus prepared are each fed to a feed drum 19 and held there by a vacuum on a peripheral or lateral surface 21 until they are attached to the material web 11.

[0052] The feed drums 19 are each rotated stepwise or cyclically around a horizontal file by a separate drive 22. This allows the device to be operated in a single lane, for example, during a reel change. It is also conceivable, of course, that the device could be designed entirely in a single lane.

[0053] A special feature of the lay-on drums 19 is their polygonal cross-section. Thus, the outer surface 21 is formed by a corresponding number of flat side surfaces 23.

[0054] Preferably, the laying drums 19 are formed in cross-section as a regular n-gon, in which all side surfaces 23 have the same dimensions and are arranged at the same angles to adjacent side surfaces 23.

[0055] In the present case, the support drums 19 are hexagonal in cross-section, so that the outer surface 21 is formed by six side surfaces 23. Adjacent side surfaces 23 are arranged at corresponding angles to each other.

[0056] It is understood that the number of corners of the feed drums 19 or the number of side surfaces 23 can vary in different embodiments. Thus, both a smaller number of corners or side surfaces 23 and a larger number of corners or side surfaces 23 are conceivable.

[0057] The application drums 19 are coupled to a vacuum source (not shown) via a vacuum connection 24, so that the outer surface 21 or the individual side surfaces 23 can be subjected to a vacuum in order to hold the material strip 16 or one or more tear strips 10.

[0058] As soon as a material strip 16 is unwound from a reel 20 and placed on a feed drum 19 and held (by pressure), the material strip 16 can be pulled off the reel 20 by rotating the feed drum 19. The material strip 16 is guided from the reel 20 via a loop box 25 and deflection rollers 26 to the feed drum 19. The structure and function of the loop box are known from EP 3 569 531 A1, to which reference is made for the purpose of a complete disclosure.

[0059] Upstream of the application drums 19, a application station 27 is provided in the transport path of the material strips 16, in which gripping tabs 12 are attached to the material strips 16. The structure and function of the application stations 27 are shown by way of example in Figs. 8 and 9. Accordingly, a material web 28 for the gripping tabs 12 is pulled off a reel 29 by means of a pair of feed rollers 49, and a gripping tab 12 is severed by means of the separating knife 17. The separating knife 17 is driven in rotation by a servo motor 30. The severed gripping tab 12 is first held on a pivoting applicator 31 by means of vacuum and then pressed onto the adhesive side of the material strip 16 by pivoting the applicator and fastened there by adhesive. The material strips 16, which are provided with a gripping tip 12 at intervals, reach the circumference of the respective laying drum 19.

[0060] Furthermore, a cutting station 32 is arranged on the circumference of the application drums 19, with which individual tear strips 10 are severed from the material strip 16 while they are held on the respective application drum 19. Each cutting station 32 is arranged at a short distance from the outer surface 21 of a application drum 19 and has a cutting knife 33, which is driven in rotation by a servo motor 34. The cutting knife 33 is used to separate a tear strip 10 with a gripping tip 12 from the material strip 16 before the tear strip 10 is attached to the material web 11.

[0061] In the present exemplary embodiment, the separating cut is made in the transition between two adjacent side surfaces 23 of the laying drums 19. For this purpose, the laying drums 19 are provided with a free space 35 at the corresponding locations in order to prevent the separating knives 33 from colliding with the respective laying drum 19 when the separating cut is carried out. In particular, Figs. 10 and 11 show that the length of the tear strips 10 essentially corresponds to the length of the side surfaces 23 in the circumferential direction. Figs. 6 and 7, in conjunction with Figs. 10 and 11, show the pressing of the material web 11 against the tear strips 10. For this purpose, the material web 11 is guided in the area of ​​the laying drums 19 over a lifting table 36, the distance of which from the circumference of the laying drums 19 is cyclically adjustable. During the feeding of the tear strips 10 into a transfer station 37, the lifting table 36 is arranged at a distance from the circumference of the laying drums 19 (Figs. 7 and 10).When the tear strips 10 reach the transfer station 37, which in the present embodiment is arranged in the region of the underside of the application drums 19, the side surfaces 23 of the application drums 19 with the tear strips 10 to be transferred are arranged parallel to the top side of the lifting table 36, so that the material web 11 is pressed by the lifting table 36 against the side surfaces 23 with the tear strips 10 in order to connect them to the material web 11. The lifting table 36 and with it the material web 11 are then spaced away from the application drums 19 again and the material web 11 is transported further in the conveying direction, while the next tear strips are moved into the transfer station 37 and the cycle begins again.

[0062] Another special feature is the drive for the lifting table 36 in connection with the transport of the material web 11. The material web 11 is generally intended to be transported continuously. However, for the transfer of the tear strips 10 to the material web 11 using the application drums 19 and the lifting table 36, the material web 11 must be temporarily stationary. For this purpose, a track pendulum 38 is used, which is known in principle from DE 19 914 609 A1, to which reference is made for the purpose of complete disclosure. A drive 39 pivots the track pendulum 38 back and forth relative to two upper, stationary pivot points 40. The material web 11 is guided over two lower pendulum rollers 41, so that the material web 11 is briefly stopped for applying the tear strips 10, while a continuous transport of the material web 11 takes place upstream and downstream of the web pendulum 38.

[0063] Figs. 6 and 7 further show that the lifting table 36 is mounted on a base frame 43 via two pendulum supports 42, as well as the arrangement of a station 44 for applying the tear cuts 18 and any vent holes in the material web following the lifting table 36. The lifting table 36 is also moved by a drive 45. In other words, the mode of operation or the process sequence can be described as follows:

[0064] A tear strip 10 is pulled parallel and simultaneously from two reels 20. A short paper strip is applied to the adhesive side of the reel as a grip tab 12 at defined pitch intervals. The tear strip 10 is then wound onto two adjacent, hexagonal feed drums 19. Suction holes are located in the feed drums 19 to secure the tear strip 10 to its non-adhesive side.

[0065] The loading drums 19 rotate incrementally (in a timed fashion) by 60°. The corresponding drives 22 operate independently of each other, so that if one unit fails, the other can continue loading. The machine then preferably operates at half speed.

[0066] During a standstill phase, the tear strip 10 is cut to a defined length on the feed drums 19. This cut length approximately corresponds to the width of the material web 11. While the tear strip 10 is on the underside of the drum, the material web 11 is lifted and pressed against the adhesive side of the tear strip 10. The gripping tip 12 protrudes slightly beyond the edge of the material web 11. Since the material web 11 can only be pressed against the adhesive side of the tear strip 10 during a standstill, the speed of the material web 11 is influenced by two pendulum rollers 41. When the pendulum rollers 41 move to the right, the distance that the material web 11 has to travel becomes longer. Therefore, the material web 11 comes to a standstill at the level of the feed drum. At this moment, the lifting table 36 is pressed against the feed drum and the tear strips 10 are placed onto the material web 11.The tear strips 10 remain stuck to the material web 11.

[0067] After the web is laid down, the pendulum rollers 41 are moved back to the left. This allows the material web 11 to catch up again. This means that the material web 11 is fed continuously while the laying process in the station is synchronized. The pendulum rollers 41 are driven by a servomotor 39 via a crank drive. The lifting table 36 is also driven by a servomotor 45. The lifting table 36 is mounted on a coupling rod 47. This coupling rod 47 connects a parallelogram gear 48, at the end of which two deflection rollers 46 are attached for web guidance. The rollers 46 hold the material web 11 horizontally while it is pressed against the lay-up drums 19.

[0068] *****

[0069] List of reference symbols

[0070] 10 tear strips 42 pendulum supports

[0071] 11 Material web 43 Base frame

[0072] 12 touch points 44 station

[0073] 13 Longitudinal edge 45 Drive (lifting table)

[0074] 14 Arrow 46 pulleys

[0075] 15 Separating cut 47 Coupling rod

[0076] 16 material strips (tear strips) 48 parallelogram gears

[0077] 17 separating knives (laying station) 49 feed rollers

[0078] 18 Tear cut

[0079] 19 Feed drum

[0080] 20 bobbins (material strips)

[0081] 21 Shell surface

[0082] 22 Drive

[0083] 23 Side surface (surface)

[0084] 24 Vacuum connection

[0085] 25 loop box

[0086] 26 pulley

[0087] 27 Laying station

[0088] 28 Material web (touch tip)

[0089] 29 Bobine (Material web 28)

[0090] 30 Servo motor (laying station)

[0091] 31 trailers

[0092] 32 cutting stations

[0093] 33 separating knives (cutting station)

[0094] 34 Servo motor (cutting station)

[0095] 35 Free space

[0096] 36 lifting table

[0097] 37 transfer station

[0098] 38 railway pendulums

[0099] 39 Drive (rail pendulum)

[0100] 40 fixed pivot point

[0101] 41 spherical roller

Claims

Patent claims 1. A method for applying tear strips (10) to a continuous web of material (11) for the production of wrappers for groups of products of the cigarette industry, wherein a continuous strip of material (16) for tear strips (10) is preferably continuously unwound from a bobbin (20), tear strips (10) of a predetermined length are cut out from the material, and are then applied to the continuous web of material (11) at intervals from one another, characterized in that the material strip (16) is brought into contact with the outer surface (21) of a polygonal cross-section and preferably indexed application drum (19), such that an adhesive-coated side of the material strip (16) faces outwards, and that a tear strip (10) is then cut out from the material strip (16) at the circumference of the application drum (19).and that afterwards the material web (11) is preferably moved against the outer surface (21) of the application drum (19) in such a way that the detached tear strip (10) is attached to the material web (11) by adhesive.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the continuous strip of material (16) is provided with a gripping tab (12) at predetermined intervals before being fed to the application drum (19) and thus before the tear strips (10) are applied to the web of material (11).

3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the separation cut for singulating a tear strip (10) from the material web (11) is made at a small distance from the gripping tab (12).

4. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the lateral surface (21) of the polygonal cross-section of the laying drum (19) is formed by a (corresponding) number of planar side surfaces (23) arranged at an angle to each other.

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the length of the flat side surfaces (23) in the circumferential direction essentially corresponds to the predetermined length of the tear strips (10).

6. Method according to claim 4 or any of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the application drum (19) is driven stepwise and during a short standstill phase of the application drum (19) the material web (11) is pressed against a facing side surface (23) of the application drum (19) so that the tear strip (10) is adhered to the material web (11), while the side surface (23) and the material web (11) are arranged (essentially) in planes aligned parallel to each other.

7. Method according to claim 1 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the material web (11) is continuously fed to the application drum (19) and is briefly stopped in the area of ​​the application drum (19) in order to press the material web (11) against the prepared tear strip (10), and that the material web (11) is subsequently continuously transported away again.

8. Method according to claim 7 or any of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the material web (11) is guided in the area of ​​the application drum (19) over deflection rollers which are pivoted to briefly stop the material web (11) and which are pivoted back after the application of the tear strip (10) in order to (re)continuously convey the material web (11).

9. Method according to claim 7 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that during the short standstill of the material web (11) incisions and / or punches are made on the material web (11), in particular for tear cuts (18) in the area of ​​the gripping tabs (12) or for vent holes.

10. Method according to claim 1 or any of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the tear strips (10) are attached to the material web (11) with their longitudinal extent pointing transversely to the longitudinal extent of the material web (11).

11. Method according to claim 1 or any of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the material strip (16) or a or Several tear strips (10) separated from it are held by means of a vacuum on the outer surface (21) of the laying drum (19), in particular a side surface (23) thereof, and that the vacuum is temporarily deactivated, in particular only in the area of ​​a side surface (23) facing the material web (11), in order to attach a tear strip (10) to the material web (11).

12. Method according to claim 1 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the material strip (16) is fed in two lanes by two bobbins (20) and transferred to parallel laying drums (19) and that the tear strips (10) are applied simultaneously and parallel to each other at a distance from one another by one of the two laying drums (19) to the material web (11).

13. Method according to claim 12, characterized in that when one of the two bobbins (20) is changed, the method is operated in a single lane with a changed speed.

14. Method according to claim 1 or any of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the material web (11) consists of paper or substantially of paper.

15. Method according to claim 2 or any of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the gripping tab (12) is made of paper or substantially of paper.

16. Device for applying tear strips (10) to a continuous web of material (11) for the production of wrappers for groups of products of the cigarette industry, wherein a continuous strip of material (16) for tear strips (10) can be pulled off a bobbin (20), tear strips (10) of a predetermined length can be cut out from the continuous web of material (11) and are applied at intervals from one another, characterized by a polygonal cross-section application drum (19) against whose outer surface (21) the strip of material (16) can be brought into contact, such that an adhesive-coated side of the strip of material (16) faces outwards, and in that the device is configured to cut out a tear strip (10) from the strip of material (16) at the circumference of the application drum (19). and then move the material web (11) against the outer surface (21) of the application drum (19) in such a way that the detached tear strip (10) is attached to the material web (11) by adhesive.

17. Device according to claim 16, characterized in that upstream of the application drum (19) an application station (27) for gripping tabs (12) is arranged on the material strip (16), wherein the application station (27) is configured to cut gripping tabs (12) from a material web (11) and to attach them at intervals to each other on the material strip (16).

18. Device according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that a cutting station (32) is arranged on the circumference of the application drum (19), which is designed to cut off individual tear strips (10) from the strip of material (16) held on the outer surface (21) of the application drum (19).

19. Device according to claim 16 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that a lifting table (36) is arranged on the circumference of the application drum (19), over which the material web (11) is guided, wherein the lifting table (36) is movable in the direction of the outer surface (21) of the application drum (19) in order to move the material web (11) against the outer surface (21) of the application drum (19) and thereby to attach a tear strip (10) to the material web (11) by adhesive bonding.

20. Device according to claim 1 or one of the other preceding claims, characterized in that the continuously transportable material web (11) is guided in the area of ​​the loading drum (19) over pivotable deflection rollers, such that by pivoting the deflection rollers the material web (11) in the area of ​​the loading drum (19) or in the area of ​​the lifting table can be brought to a standstill for a short time in order to attach a tear strip (10) to the stationary material web (11).

Images