Method and apparatus for manufacturing a continuous rod of the tobacco industry comprising a gapless sequence of longitudinal objects placed inside a filling material

Abstract

The subject of the application is a method of manufacturing a continuous rod (CR) of the tobacco industry containing, in its interior, longitudinal objects (1) placed along the entire length of the continuous rod (CR), in which the longitudinal objects (1) are arranged on the circumference of a feeding wheel (10). The method according to the invention is characterized in that longitudinal objects (1) are fed from the feeding wheel (10) onto a toothless inserting wheel (20) having a polygonal outline, on the toothless inserting wheel (20) a gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) is formed, the objects contacting each other face-to-face at least at one point, the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) is introduced into the filling material (4) so that the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) contacts the filling material (4) and the filling material (4) is wrapped with a wrapper (6) to form a continuous rod (CR) of the filling material (4), containing longitudinal objects (1) contacting each other face-to-face, along the entire length of the continuous rod (CR). The subject of the application is also an apparatus (30) for manufacturing a continuous rod (CR) of the tobacco industry.

Description

[0001] The subject of the invention is a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a continuous rod of the tobacco industry, having an application in the production of tobacco industry products, in particular filters.

[0002] In the state of the art, apparatuses and methods are known for manufacturing continuous rods from which rods are then cut to produce filters placed in tobacco industry products.

[0003] EP2096943A1 discloses a method of manufacturing cigarettes, comprising supplying tubes from a storage to an apparatus for producing tobacco rods, supplying tobacco to the apparatus through a suction chamber so that the tobacco accumulates around the tubes. The tobacco is then wrapped in paper in a wrapping unit to form hollow tobacco rods with a tube running through them.

[0004] US4648858 discloses an apparatus for manufacturing a continuous filtering rod having a hollow elastic tube extending longitudinally through the filtering rod. The apparatus comprises a bobbin supplying the hollow elastic tube, a storage for filtering material web, and a compaction of the material funnel to which the filtering material web and the hollow elastic tube are continuously fed in order to form the filtering material into a cylindrical shape surrounding the longitudinally extending hollow elastic tube. The apparatus also includes an applicator of plasticizer or adhesive for coating the external surface of the tube wall with plasticizer or adhesive prior to introducing it into the compaction of the material funnel, and a nozzle guiding the tube placed at the inlet to the compaction funnel to position and guide the hollow tube into the compaction funnel.

[0005] A problem occurring in the state of the art is the manufacturing of a continuous rod containing, in its interior, a longitudinal object stretching the entire length of that rod. In particular, this problem arises when one wishes to produce a rod with a paper tube placed substantially centrally within the filtering material, so that there is a passage through the inside of the tube along the entire length of the manufactured rod. The problem stems from the very high stiffness of the paper tube, which significantly hinders the precise feeding of a continuous tube into the interior of the filling material, in particular acetate or paper. The stiffness of such a paper tube prevents it from being wound onto a bobbin once formed, and from being introduced as a continuous object inside the manufactured rod. Linear, continuous ways of manufacturing a paper tube, by forming a longitudinally linear glued seam, do not work when producing small-diameter paper tubes, for example 3-4 mm, because there is a problem maintaining the correct cylindrical shape of the tube and with closing the glued seam, especially when using stiff paper. Therefore, the only known method so far, which makes it possible to produce a paper tube of that diameter while preserving the correct shape and proper glued seam, is a spiral tube-manufacturing technology by wrapping and gluing several paper webs around a mandrel, then cutting them into sections of a specific length, which can then be further processed.

[0006] The method according to the invention is defined in claim 1.

[0007] The essence of the invention is a method for manufacturing a continuous rod of the tobacco industry containing, in its interior, longitudinal objects placed along the entire length of the rod, in which the longitudinal objects are placed on the circumference of a feeding wheel. The method according to the invention is characterized in that longitudinal objects are fed from the feeding wheel to a toothless inserting wheel of polygonal outline, on the toothless inserting wheel a gapless sequence of the longitudinal objects is formed, the objects contacting each other face-to-face in at least one point, the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects is introduced into the filling material so that the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects contacts the filling material. The filling material is then wrapped in a wrapper to form a continuous rod of the filling material containing the longitudinal objects, face-to-face with each other, along the entire length of the continuous rod.

[0008] Advantageously, in the method according to the invention, the toothless inserting wheel rotates more slowly than the feeding wheel, and the difference in speed is selected to eliminate gaps between consecutively fed longitudinal objects.

[0009] Advantageously, in the method according to the invention, the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects is formed by sliding a longitudinal object over the polygonal face that forms the outline of the inserting wheel, whose side length essentially corresponds to the length of the longitudinal object.

[0010] Advantageously, the method according to the invention is characterized in that portions of adhesive are applied, using an adhesive nozzle, onto the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects on the inserting wheel, on the side facing away from the inserting wheel.

[0011] Advantageously, the method according to the invention is characterized in that, in the filling material, in the area where the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects is introduced, a socket is formed that enables central positioning of the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects relative to the filling material, and the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects is introduced into the filling material so that the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects contacts the filling material at the bottom of the formed socket, where the adhesive portion is applied.

[0012] Advantageously, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the longitudinal object is a tubular element.

[0013] Advantageously, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the longitudinal object is a paper tube manufactured using a spiral technique.

[0014] Advantageously, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the longitudinal object is a paper tube with a diameter from 3.8 mm to 4.2 mm.

[0015] Advantageously, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the filling material is filtering material.

[0016] Moreover, the essence of the invention is an apparatus for manufacturing a continuous tobacco industry rod containing, in its interior, longitudinal objects placed along the entire length of the rod provided with a feeding wheel for feeding the longitudinal objects.. The apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that it is further provided with a toothless inserting wheel of a polygonal outline, adapted to feed longitudinal objects into the filling material, as well as a forming element for producing a continuous rod of the filling material. The toothless inserting wheel is adapted so that the longitudinal objects are arranged such that they contact each other face-to-face at least at one point, and the forming element is adapted for wrapping the filling material with a wrapper to form a continuous rod of the filling material containing the longitudinal objects, arranged face-to-face with each other, along the entire length of the continuous rod.

[0017] Advantageously, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the toothless inserting wheel is adapted to rotate more slowly than the feeding wheel, and the difference in speed is selected to eliminate gaps between consecutively fed longitudinal objects.

[0018] Advantageously, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the toothless inserting wheel has a polygonal outline whose side length essentially corresponds to the length of the longitudinal object.

[0019] Advantageously, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that it is additionally provided with an adhesive nozzle adapted to apply portions of adhesive onto the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects on the toothless inserting wheel, on the side facing away from the toothless inserting wheel.

[0020] Advantageously, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the outline of the toothless inserting wheel is advantageously a polygon having alternating sides of different lengths, or series of sides of different lengths.

[0021] Advantageously, the apparatus according to the invention is characterized in that the forming element is adapted for forming a socket in the filling material, in the area where the sequence of sections of longitudinal objects is introduced, enabling the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects to be placed centrally in the filling material, and further the forming element is adapted to introduce, in a gapless manner, the sequence of longitudinal objects into the filling material so that the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects contacts the filling material, at the bottom of the formed socket, where the adhesive portion is applied.

[0022] The method according to the invention makes it possible to produce a continuous rod of tobacco industry material, equipped with high-stiffness longitudinal objects along the entire length of the rod. The high-stiffness longitudinal objects are placed very precisely in the filling material, while at the same time fulfilling the requirement of using small space of the production hall. In particular, when a tobacco industry rod is produced containing tubular longitudinal objects placed inside, forming a passage through the center of the manufactured rod along its entire length, while preserving the required stiffness of the manufactured rod and minimal occupation of production space.

[0023] The subject of the invention is described in more detail with reference to a preferred embodiment in the drawing, in which: Fig. 1presents a continuous rod of filtering material obtained by the method according to the invention; Fig. 2presents a single filtering element cut off from the continuous rod of filtering material obtained by the method according to the invention; Fig. 3presents an apparatus for producing filtering elements cut from the continuous rod of filtering material; Fig. 4presents, in a first embodiment, an inserting unit for objects implementing the method according to the invention; Fig. 5presents, in a second embodiment, an inserting unit for objects implementing the method according to the invention; Fig. 6presents, in a side view with enlargement, an inserting apparatus in the area of the adhesive nozzle; Fig. 7presents, in a front view, longitudinal objects on the inserting wheel with the applied adhesive portions; Fig. 8apresents a first scheme of applying the adhesive portions; Fig. 8bpresents a second scheme of applying the adhesive portions; Fig. 8cpresents a third scheme of applying the adhesive portions; Fig. 8dpresents a fourth scheme of applying the adhesive portions; Fig. 9presents, in an enlarged side view, a toothless inserting wheel with the schematic marking of negative pressure zones in a preferred embodiment; Fig. 10presents, in an enlarged side view, a toothless inserting wheel with schematic marking of negative pressure zones in another embodiment; Fig. 11presents, in an enlarged view, the location where a longitudinal object is transferred from the feeding wheel onto the inserting wheel according to the invention; Fig. 12presents, in an enlarged view, a fragment of the inserting wheel; Fig. 13a to 13dpresent the sequence of transferring a longitudinal object between the feeding wheel and the inserting wheel according to the invention.

[0024] The method and apparatus according to the invention concern the production of a continuous rod (CR) of the tobacco industry constructed of a paper wrapper with a filler material, in which the interior, preferably centrally, there is a sequence of longitudinal objects in contact with each other by their end surfaces without any gaps. The filling material may be filtering material, tobacco material, or a material generating aroma and / or flavor. Preferably, the filling material is tobacco foil or paper in the form of crimping or smooth, or acetate fibers.

[0025] The longitudinal objects are preferably thin-walled spiral paper tubes, although they may just as well be tubes made of other materials, objects of cylindrical shape or heating cylindrical objects. From the geometrical side, longitudinal objects are objects whose length is greater than their diameter; preferably, the length is significantly greater than their diameter, where "significantly" means a diameter-to-length ratio of at least 1 to 2.

[0026] All example embodiments concerning the method and apparatus operate identically and retain their properties regardless of the type of filling material or the nature of the longitudinal object. The description of the example embodiments should be understood as referring to all combinations of filling materials and longitudinal objects.

[0027] In Fig. 1, the continuous rod (CR) of the tobacco industry made of filling material 4 obtained by the method according to the invention is presented. The obtained continuous rod CR contains the filling material 4 formed into a rod, which contains inside a gapless sequence 15 composed of individual longitudinal objects 1, preferably tubes T. The resulting continuous rod CR in Fig. 1 is shown in a side sectional view. Fig. 1 indicates exemplary cutting points CP of the continuous rod into individual segments. Preferably, the cutting points CP of individual segments 2 are spaced away from the face-to-face contact points TP of individual longitudinal objects 1.

[0028] Fig. 2 shows a single segment 2 cut from the continuous rod CR obtained by the method according to the invention. In Fig. 2, the longitudinal object 1 is a thin-walled tube T, preferably a paper tube made by a spiral technique involving wrapping strips of paper on a mandrel. Such a technique for manufacturing paper tubes makes it possible to obtain very stiff but also thin-walled paper tubes. Fig. 2 marks the end surfaces 3 of the single cut segment 2, which reveal the ends of the tubes T located inside the filling material 4. In other alternative embodiments, instead of a thin-walled tube T, the single cut segment 2 may contain tubular heating elements or tubular longitudinal objects made of metal mesh.

[0029] Fig. 3 presents an apparatus 30 for manufacturing the continuous rod CR of the tobacco industry , provided with a cutting head 7 for cutting individual segments 2 from the continuous rod CR. The apparatus shown in Fig. 3 is equipped with a feeding system 8 supplying the longitudinal objects 1. To ensure smooth and precise feeding of the longitudinal objects 1, base objects R are introduced into the hopper of the feeding system 8 in sections whose length is generally a multiple of the length of the longitudinal object 1, preferably in the range of 20 mm to 210 mm, from where the base objects R are then transferred to the cutting drum 14 where they are cut into shorter sections of a specified length. Cutting the long, stiff base object R into shorter longitudinal objects 1 of a length preferably ranging from 10 mm to 70 mm makes it possible to guide them along a path that has a significant curvature along which an uncut rigid longitudinal base object R could not be transported precisely because of its stiffness.. The base object R is usually cut into several shorter longitudinal objects 1, each in the range of 10 mm to 70 mm.

[0030] In principle, the method of manufacturing the continuous rod CR of the tobacco industry from the filling material 4, preferably filtering material, containing in its interior the longitudinal objects 1 arranged along its entire length one after another, involves creating a gapless sequence of individual longitudinal objects 1 without leaving gaps between them, so that individual longitudinal objects 1 successively contact one another by their end surfaces. This method is conveniently shown with reference to the feeding unit 5 depicted in Fig. 4. Stiff longitudinal objects 1, in particular tubes T, are supplied to the feeding unit 5 by the feeding system 8 or directly from a production process being performed by a machine manufacturing the longitudinal objects (not shown).

[0031] Fig. 4 presents the unit 5 that feeds individual stiff longitudinal objects 1 into the interior of the forming continuous rod CR of filling material 4. The longitudinal objects 1 are fed onto a toothed feeding wheel 10, the pitch of the teeth 9, i.e. the pitch of the sockets 11 of the feeding wheel 10, corresponding at least to the length of the individual longitudinal object 1. The sockets 11 and the shape of the feeding wheel 10 are shown more precisely in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. In the embodiment of Fig. 4, portions of adhesive are applied to the outer surface of the longitudinal objects 1 in the area in which the longitudinal objects 1 are held in the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 by negative pressure.

[0032] The first step is to place the longitudinal objects 1 in the sockets 11 located on the circumferential surface of the feeding wheel 10 so that the longitudinal objects 1 are transported by the feeding wheel 10 essentially along their longitudinal axis in the direction indicated by the arrow. The feeding wheel 10 is a standard toothed wheel with teeth 9, commonly used in linear transport systems of longitudinal elements in the tobacco industry. From the feeding wheel 10, the longitudinal objects 1 are transferred to the toothless inserting wheel 20, on which a gapless sequence 15 of the longitudinal objects 1 is formed.

[0033] Advantageously, the effect of sliding individual longitudinal objects 1 together is obtained by differentiating the speed between the feeding wheel 10 and the toothless inserting wheel 20, i.e. the feeding wheel 10 rotates at a rotational speed V1 in the direction indicated by the arrow, which is higher than the rotational speed V2 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 rotating in the opposite direction. It is possible to use other solutions allowing the circumferential sliding together of the longitudinal objects 1, such as sliding units in the form of rolls or other sliding mechanisms. Advantageously, the toothless inserting wheel 20 rotates more slowly than the feeding wheel 10, and the difference in speed is selected so as to eliminate gaps between the consecutively transported longitudinal objects 1.

[0034] In the process of introducing the gapless sequence 15 of individual longitudinal objects 1, it is important to maintain at least a point contact between the end surfaces of adjacent longitudinal objects 1 and to keep the longitudinal objects 1 in fixed positions so that the produced gapless sequence 15 of longitudinal objects 1 remains stable during the process. Advantageously, to achieve this, a toothless inserting wheel 20 with a polygonal outline is used, for example 64 sides, where the sides of the polygon form sockets 21 to which negative pressure is supplied, adapted for holding the longitudinal objects 1 on its circumference. The multiple of the polygon is variable and is related to the length of the introduced longitudinal object 1.

[0035] Advantageously, the toothless inserting wheel 20 has a polygonal outline whose side forming the socket 21 corresponds to the length of the longitudinal object 1. The sockets 21 are essentially flat sides of the polygon forming the inserting wheel 20, equipped with nozzles 18 enabling the supply of negative pressure.

[0036] The inserting wheel 20 of polygonal outline is characterized by the fact that the longitudinal objects 1 placed on its circumference are transported along a path that is a circle. The axis of rotation of the inserting wheel 20 is the geometric center of the polygon constituting the outline of the inserting wheel 20 and is also the center of the circle described or inscribed in that polygon. The outline of the inserting wheel 20 is advantageously a regular polygon, but in other equally advantageous embodiments, these are polygons that have alternating sides of different lengths, or a series of sides of different lengths. The common feature of all these embodiments of inserting wheels is that they transport objects along paths that are circular arcs. The name "inserting wheel" thus arises from the shape of the path along which the longitudinal objects 1 are transported by it. The flat sides of the polygon that forms the outline of the inserting wheel 20 serve as sockets 21 for stabilizing the transported longitudinal objects 1.

[0037] The inserting wheel 20 is described in detail with reference to Fig. 9 and subsequent figures.

[0038] In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, an adhesive nozzle 40 is advantageously used to supply the adhesive. Supplying adhesive is particularly advantageous if the longitudinal objects 1 are smooth, which may lead to them slipping out of the cut segments 2 of the continuous rod CR. Longitudinal objects 1, in particular objects made of metal or heating elements, are typically placed without using adhesive.

[0039] The adhesive nozzle 40 is adapted to supply adhesive portions from 1 mg to 10 mg. The amount of adhesive portion supplied depends on the type of filling material 4, the length of the introduced longitudinal object 1, and the type of material from which it is made. It is also possible to use two adhesive nozzles 40 that will alternately or simultaneously supply adhesive portions onto the longitudinal objects 1. In that case, the total volume of the applied adhesive may be doubled. The portions are supplied at a high frequency determined by the linear speed at which the longitudinal elements 1 are supplied onto the toothless inserting wheel 20. The adhesive head 40 is positioned so that the adhesive portions are applied to the external surface of the longitudinal objects 1. The adhesive is advantageously applied in the area in which the longitudinal objects 1 are held in the gapless sequence 15, one behind another so that they contact each other at least at one point by their end surfaces or edges. At the same time, each longitudinal object 1 is held by negative pressure supplied to the socket 21 located on the circumferential surface of the inserting wheel 20. Holding objects on inserting wheels by negative pressure is a typical way of transporting objects in the tobacco industry. Alternatively, in areas where objects on the wheel are not held by negative pressure, or in areas where they need to be protected from external influences, a holding shield or raceway 25 may be applied, which shields the transported longitudinal objects from outside or may hold them in place where they are not held by negative pressure. In this embodiment, adhesive is applied to the longitudinal objects 1 below the holding raceway 25, i.e. in the location where they are already slid together without gaps and are held by negative pressure in the sockets 21.

[0040] In Fig. 5, an embodiment is shown in which the adhesive nozzle 40 applies adhesive to the longitudinal objects 1 through cutouts 12 in the holding raceway 25, shown in enlargement Z in Fig. 7. This advantageously avoids contaminating the negative pressure nozzles of the toothless inserting wheel 20 with adhesive supplied by the adhesive head 40. In this embodiment, the raceway 25 holds the transported longitudinal objects 1 on the toothless inserting wheel 20 over a longer section than is shown in the embodiment in Fig. 4.

[0041] In Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, an element 16 is shown below the toothless inserting wheel 20, in which the filling material 4 is formed and compacted so as to create the continuous rod CR of the tobacco industry.

[0042] The longitudinal objects 1 from the toothless inserting wheel 20 are introduced consecutively without gaps into the filling material 4. Advantageously, the toothless inserting wheel 20 forms a gapless sequence 15 of longitudinal objects 1, in which each longitudinal object 1 covered with adhesive contacts the filling material 4 at the location of the applied adhesive portion.

[0043] To obtain the continuous rod CR, the filling material 4 containing inside it the introduced longitudinal objects 1 arranged in a gapless manner-i.e. they contact each other face-to-face along the entire length of the forming continuous rod CR-is wrapped with a wrapper 6.

[0044] The stage of applying adhesive itself is quite important, as the portions of the applied adhesive make it possible to maintain the stability of the finished products. After an individual segment 2 is cut from the continuous rod CR, it retains its structure, and the internal longitudinal object 1 does not slip out of the cut segment 2, being bonded to the filling material 4 by the adhesive. In the case of a single longitudinal object 1, adhesive portions are placed away from the end edge 13 of the longitudinal object 1 and away from its central part C, as shown more clearly in enlargement in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. This prevents contamination of the toothless inserting wheel 20 where consecutive individual longitudinal objects 1 contact each other and avoids contaminating the cutting head 7 that cuts individual segments 2 from the continuous rod CR in a further stage of the technological process.

[0045] Advantageously, the stage of applying the adhesive to the gapless sequence 15 of longitudinal objects 1 can be optimized, and thus, for an individual longitudinal object 1, the adhesive portions are applied synchronously to areas corresponding to 0.25 and 0.75 of the length of the longitudinal object 1.

[0046] In the method according to the invention, in which the filling material 4 itself is of high stiffness as when an appropriately folded paper web or multiple paper webs are used, it is advantageous in the insertion area 17 where the gapless sequence 15 of longitudinal objects 1, to form a socket in the compacted filling material 4 that allows the longitudinal objects 1 to be placed centrally with respect to the longitudinal axis X of the forming continuous rod CR. The formation of the socket may be accompanied by lateral separation of the introduced objects 1 from the filling material 4, for example using a web separator physically separating the socket space from the filling material 4 with side walls. The stage of separating the filling material 4 from the introduced objects 1 continues until the inserted longitudinal object 1 contacts the filling material 4 at the bottom of the created socket, at the location where the adhesive portion was applied.

[0047] An alternative solution is to apply adhesive at the bottom of the socket formed in the filling material 4.

[0048] Fig. 6 presents, in a side enlarged view, the toothless inserting wheel 20 in the area of the adhesive nozzle 40. In this embodiment, the longitudinal objects 1 on the inserting wheel 20 are led under a raceway 25, which shields them from the outside. The longitudinal objects 1 are transported in the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20, where they are held by negative pressure supplied to the nozzles 18. Alternatively, the raceway 25 may hold the longitudinal objects 1 on the inserting wheel 20 in cases where the longitudinal objects 1 are not held by negative pressure. In this embodiment, the raceway 25 is a two-part raceway composed of the left 25' and right 25" holding raceways, leaving a gap in the form of a cutout 12, through which the adhesive portions 41 are applied to the longitudinal objects 1, as shown in Fig. 7.

[0049] In Fig. 7, viewed from the front, longitudinal objects 1 on the toothless inserting wheel 20 with applied adhesive portions 41 are presented. In this embodiment, the longitudinal objects 1 on the toothless inserting wheel 20 are led under the raceway 25 in a gapless sequence 15, one behind another so that they contact each other by their end edges 13.

[0050] In Fig. 8a, is shown a first scheme of applying adhesive portions 42, 42' to the external surface of the longitudinal objects 1. In the first scheme of applying adhesive portions 42, 42' to the external surface of the longitudinal object 1, two adjacent adhesive stripes are introduced, at some distance from the end edges 13 of the longitudinal object 1. Such an arrangement of the adhesive portions 42, 42' allows for a large distance between consecutive adhesive portions 42, 42', which results in a more stable connection of the longitudinal object 1 with the filling material 4 after the longitudinal object 1 has been placed in the filling material 4.

[0051] In Fig. 8b, is shown a second scheme of applying adhesive portions 43, 43' to the external surface of the longitudinal objects 1. This scheme involves two separate adhesive portions introduced at some distance from the end edges 13 of the longitudinal object 1. Meanwhile, Fig. 8c shows a third scheme of applying adhesive portions 44, 44' containing four adhesive portions applied along the longitudinal axis Y of the longitudinal object 1.

[0052] In Fig. 8d, a fourth scheme of applying adhesive portions 45, 45' is shown, in which two longitudinal adhesive stripes 45, 45' are applied to the external surface of the longitudinal objects 1, again some distance away from the end edges 13 of the longitudinal objects 1. All the adhesive application schemes require stepping back from the end edges 13 of the slid-together longitudinal objects 1 to avoid contaminating the negative-pressure nozzles 18 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 with adhesive. At the same time, in these schemes of applying adhesive portions, the adhesive is moved away from the central part K of the longitudinal objects 1, which prevents contamination of the cutting head 7 that will later cut the continuous rod CR into individual segments 2 at the cut points CP (shown by a dashed line) obtained by the method according to the invention.

[0053] Fig. 9 shows, in an enlarged side view, the toothless inserting wheel 20 for longitudinal objects 1, with schematic marking of negative-pressure zones, in a preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention. In zone A, the flat sides of the inserting wheel 20which can be called sockets 21are not supplied with negative pressure because no longitudinal objects 1 are yet in those sockets 21. The sockets 21 are basically flat sides of the polygon forming the inserting wheel 20, equipped with nozzles 18 through which negative pressure is supplied. Zone B is the area in which the longitudinal objects 1 are placed onto the toothless inserting wheel 20. In this area, the sockets 21 of the inserting wheel 20 are supplied with negative pressure of a first value. The application of negative pressure stabilizes the position of the longitudinal object 1 in the socket 21 on the toothless inserting wheel 20. The value of negative pressure in zone B is low enough to allow the longitudinal objects 1 to be shifted lengthwise so they can be slid together. Since the toothless inserting wheel 20 rotates slightly more slowly than the feeding wheel 10, the longitudinal objects 1 introduced onto the toothless inserting wheel 20 are slid up against the longitudinal objects 1 already on the toothless inserting wheel 20. The teeth 9 of the feeding wheel 10 slide the longitudinal objects 1, acting on their end edge 13. At the same time, the longitudinal objects 1 are lifted out from the feeding wheel 10 by a lifter 26, which may be part of the raceway 25. The lifter 26 picks up the longitudinal objects 1 from the sockets 11 of the feeding wheel 10. The teeth 9 of the feeding wheel 10 are transversely separated by a gap that permits the insertion of the lifter through the tooth 9 and the removal of the longitudinal object 1 from the feeding wheel 10. In zone C, no negative pressure is supplied to the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20, because in that region the longitudinal objects 1 are held in the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 by the raceway 25.

[0054] In zone D of the toothless inserting wheel 20, the longitudinal objects 1 are exposed to negative pressure of a second value, which may be greater than the first value. Increasing the suction force by applying a higher negative pressure allows for the stable holding of the longitudinal objects 1 without using an external raceway 25. Exposing the outer surface of the longitudinal objects 1 in this zone makes it possible to position the adhesive nozzle (40) there, which applies adhesive portions to the longitudinal objects 1. The higher negative pressure also enables holding the longitudinal objects1 in a gapless sequence, one after another, in the exact orientation in which they will be inserted into the forming rod.

[0055] In zone E of the inserting wheel, i.e. in insertion area 17 where the longitudinal objects 1 are introduced into the filling material 4, the longitudinal objects 1 may be subjected to pressure that blows them out of the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20. This blow-out helps the longitudinal object 1 detach more quickly from the socket 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 and ensures its proper placement in the filling material 4.

[0056] Fig. 10 shows, in an enlarged side view, the toothless inserting wheel 20 for longitudinal objects 1, with schematic marking of negative pressure zones in another embodiment. In zone A, the sockets 21 of the inserting wheel 20 are not supplied with negative pressure because no longitudinal objects are there. Zone B is the area in which the longitudinal objects 1 are placed onto the toothless inserting wheel 20. In this area, the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 are supplied with negative pressure of a first value. Applying negative pressure stabilizes the position of the longitudinal object 1 in the socket 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20. The negative pressure in zone B is low enough to allow the longitudinal objects 1 to be shifted lengthwise and slid together. Since the toothless inserting wheel 20 rotates at speed V2, which is slightly lower than the speed V1 of the feeding wheel 10, the longitudinal objects 1 introduced onto the toothless inserting wheel 20 are slid onto the longitudinal objects 1 that are already in the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20. The teeth 9 of the feeding wheel 10 slide the longitudinal objects 1 by acting on their end edge 13. At the same time, the longitudinal objects 1 are lifted out from the feeding wheel 10 by a lifter 26, which lifts the longitudinal objects 1 from the feeding wheel 10. The teeth 9 of the feeding wheel 10 are transversely separated by a gap that permits the lifter 26 to enter through tooth (9) and pick up the longitudinal object 1 from the feeding wheel 10. The lifter 26 has the form of an elongated ramp, which may also function as the raceway 25 holding the longitudinal objects 1 in the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 in zone B, where the negative pressure is at the first value.

[0057] In zone D of the toothless inserting wheel 20, the longitudinal objects 1 are exposed to negative pressure of a second value, greater than the first. Increasing the suction force by using a higher negative pressure allows for stable holding of the longitudinal objects 1 without the need to hold them using an external raceway 25. Uncovering the external surface of the longitudinal objects 1 allows the adhesive nozzle 40 to be placed there to apply adhesive portions to the longitudinal objects 1.

[0058] In zone E of the toothless inserting wheel 20, i.e. the area in which the longitudinal objects 1 are introduced into the filling material 4, the longitudinal objects 1 are exposed to a blowing pressure that ejects them from the sockets 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20. The blow-out helps the longitudinal object 1 detach more quickly from the socket 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20 and enables its proper placement in the filling material 4.

[0059] Fig. 11 shows, in enlargement, the place where the longitudinal object 1 is transferred from the feeding wheel 10 to the toothless inserting wheel 20 according to the invention. The transfer of the longitudinal object 1 occurs as the gap G between adjacent longitudinal objects 1 is closed by sliding. The negative pressure, whose direction is indicated by radial arrows in Fig. 11, has a first value that allows the longitudinal objects 1 to move circumferentially on the toothless inserting wheel 20. The gap G between the longitudinal objects 1 is reduced to zero, meaning that the longitudinal objects 1 contact each other, at least at one point, with their end edges 13, forming a gapless sequence 15 of longitudinal objects 1.

[0060] Fig. 12 shows, in enlargement, a fragment of the toothless inserting wheel 20 to show that the length W of the socket 21, i.e. the side of the polygon forming the toothless inserting wheel 20, is advantageously the same as the length L of the longitudinal object 1.

[0061] Fig. 13a through 13d illustrate the sequence of transferring the longitudinal object 1 between the feeding wheel 10 and the toothless inserting wheel 20 according to the invention. The successive positions of the longitudinal object 1 show in detail how the object 1 is placed onto the toothless inserting wheel 20.

[0062] In Fig. 13a, is shown the moment when the longitudinal object 1 is partially transferred from the socket 11 of the feeding wheel 10 into the socket 21 of the toothless inserting wheel 20. Once accepted by the toothless inserting wheel 20, the longitudinal object 1 is sucked in by the negative pressure supplied to the sockets 21. As can be seen in Fig. 13b, the object 1 protrudes beyond the plane of the socket 21 however, having at least partially landed on this surface, it is pushed in direction F by tooth 9 of the feeding wheel 10, which rotates at a slightly higher rotational speed than the toothless inserting wheel 20. The tooth 9 of the feeding wheel 10 exerts force on the end edge 13 of the longitudinal object 1, causing the longitudinal object 1 to move in direction F. In Fig. 13c, the object 1 is shown in its final position in the socket 21, i.e. a position in which the longitudinal object 1 lies along its entire length on the flat surface of the socket 21. Advantageously, the length W of the socket 21 is equal to the length L of the longitudinal object 1, though other implementations are possible, in which the length of the straight surface of the socket 21 is slightly shorter than the length of the longitudinal object 1. In Fig. 13d, the moment is shown when the tooth 9 of the feeding wheel 10 is no longer in contact with the longitudinal object 1, and the longitudinal objects 1 remain slid together on the toothless inserting wheel 20 in a gapless way so that they contact each other by their end edges 13.

[0063] Longitudinal objects 1 are, in particular, paper tubes. High stiffness and small diameters can be obtained by manufacturing paper tubes using the technique of winding paper webs on a mandrel, thus obtaining spiral tubes. Such tubes have high stiffness, small wall thickness, and a relatively small diameter from 3 mm to 5 mm, preferably from 3.8 mm to 4.2 mm.

[0064] The features indicated below appear in the embodiments of the invention either individually or in any feasible combination thereof.

[0065] The outline of the toothless inserting wheel 20 is advantageously a regular polygon, in which all sides and angles are equal.

[0066] The outline of the toothless inserting wheel 20 is advantageously a polygon that has alternating sides of different lengths or a series of sides of different lengths.

[0067] The sides of the polygon serving as the sockets 21 are tangential to the circle inscribed in that polygon.

[0068] The vertices of the polygon lie on the circumscribed circle of that polygon.

[0069] A side of the polygon serving as the socket 21 is a surface located between two adjacent vertices.

[0070] A side of the polygon serving as the socket 21 is located tangentially to the circle inscribed in that polygon.

[0071] The toothless inserting wheel transports objects along paths that are circular arcs.

[0072] The flat sides of the polygon forming the outline of the toothless inserting wheel 20 serve as sockets 21.

[0073] The longitudinal object 1 is slid along the straight section of the socket 21, coaxially along the direction of transport of the longitudinal object 1 on the toothless inserting wheel 20.

[0074] The longitudinal object 1 is slid along the plane of the socket 21.

[0075] During the sliding of the longitudinal objects 1 on the toothless inserting wheel 20, the objects 1 are held in the sockets 21 by negative pressure.

[0076] During the sliding of the longitudinal objects 1 on the toothless inserting wheel 20, the gap G between neighboring longitudinal objects 1 is removed by sliding an additional longitudinal object 1 in the direction of transport of the longitudinal objects 1.

[0077] The gap G between two adjacent longitudinal objects 1 is removed once the tooth 9 completely exits from the gap G.

[0078] The gap G is located between two end edges 13 of two adjacent longitudinal objects 1.List of Reference Numerals

[0079] 1. Longitudinal object 2. Single segment 3. End surface of a single segment 4. Filling material 5. Feeding unit for longitudinal objects 6. Wrapper 7. Cutting head 8. Feeding system for longitudinal objects 9. Tooth 10. Feeding wheel 11. Socket of the feeding wheel 12. Cutouts in the raceway 13. End edge of the longitudinal object 14. Cutting drum 15. Gapless sequence of longitudinal objects 16. Forming element 17. Insertion area of introducing the gapless sequence of longitudinal objects into the filling material 18. Negative-pressure nozzles of the sockets 20. Toothless inserting wheel 21. Socket of the toothless wheel 25. Raceway25'. Left raceway 25". Right raceway 26. Lifter 30. Apparatus for manufacturing a continuous rod 40. Adhesive nozzle 41. Adhesive portion 42. Adhesive portion 42'. Adhesive portion 43. Adhesive portion 43'. Adhesive portion 44. Adhesive portion 44'. Adhesive portion 45. Adhesive portion 45'. Adhesive portion K - central part of the longitudinal object R - base object CR - continuous rod of the tobacco industry CP - cutting point TP - face-to-face contact point of longitudinal objects T - tube G - gap between longitudinal objects X - longitudinal axis of the continuous rod Y - longitudinal axis of the longitudinal object F - direction of sliding longitudinal objects in the socket

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a continuous rod (CR) of the tobacco industry containing, in its interior, longitudinal objects (1) placed along the entire length of the rod (CR), in which the longitudinal objects (1) are arranged on the circumference of a feeding wheel (10), characterized in that from the feeding wheel (10), the longitudinal objects (1) are fed onto a toothless inserting wheel (20) having a polygonal outline, on the toothless inserting wheel (20) a gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) is formed, the objects contacting each other face-to-face at least at one point, the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) is introduced into the filling material (4), such that the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) contacts the filling material (4), the filling material (4) is wrapped with a wrapper (6) to form a continuous rod (CR) of the filling material (4) containing the longitudinal objects (1), contacting each other face-to-face, along the entire length of the continuous rod (CR).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the toothless inserting wheel (20) rotates more slowly than the feeding wheel (10), and the speed difference is selected so as to eliminate the gap (G) between consecutive longitudinal objects (1).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) is formed by sliding a longitudinal object (1) over the side of the polygon forming the outline of the toothless inserting wheel (20), whose side length (W) essentially corresponds to the length (L) of the longitudinal object (1).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that adhesive portions are applied, via an adhesive nozzle (40), onto the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) on the toothless inserting wheel (20), on the side facing away from the toothless inserting wheel (20).

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, in the filling material (4), in the insertion area (17) where the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) is introduced, a socket is formed, allowing the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) to be placed centrally with respect to the filling material (4), and the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) is introduced into the filling material (4) so that the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) contacts the filling material (4) at the bottom of the created socket, where the adhesive portion is applied.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the longitudinal object (1) is a tubular element.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the longitudinal object (1) is a paper tube (T) manufactured by a spiral technique.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the longitudinal object (1) is a paper tube (T) with a diameter from 3.8 mm to 4.2 mm.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the filling material (4) is filtering material.

10. An apparatus (30) for manufacturing a continuous rod (CR) of the tobacco industry containing, in its interior, longitudinal objects (1) placed along the entire length of the rod (CR), provided with a feeding wheel (10) for feeding the longitudinal objects (1), characterized in that it further comprises a toothless inserting wheel (20) of a polygonal outline, adapted to feed the longitudinal objects (1) into the filling material (4), and a forming element (16) producing the continuous rod (CR) of the filling material (4), the toothless inserting wheel (20) is adapted to arrange the longitudinal objects (1) so that they contact each other face-to-face at least at one point, and the forming element (16) is adapted for wrapping the filling material (4) with a wrapper (6) so as to form a continuous rod (CR) of the filling material (4) containing longitudinal objects (1) contacting each other face-to-face along the entire length of the continuous rod (CR).

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the toothless inserting wheel (20) is adapted to rotate more slowly than the feeding wheel (10), and the speed difference is selected so as to eliminate the gap (G) between consecutively supplied longitudinal objects (1).

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the toothless inserting wheel (20) has a polygonal outline whose side length (W) essentially corresponds to the length (L) of the longitudinal object (1).

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that it is additionally provided with an adhesive nozzle (40) adapted to apply adhesive portions onto the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) on the inserting wheel, on the side facing away from the inserting wheel (20).

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the outline of the inserting wheel (20) is advantageously a polygon that has alternating sides of different lengths or a series of sides of different lengths.

15. The apparatus according to claims 13 or 14, characterized in that the forming element (16) is adapted to form a socket in the filling material (4), in the area where the sequence of sections of longitudinal objects (1) is introduced, enabling the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) to be placed centrally in the filling material (4), furthermore, the forming element (16) is adapted for introducing, in a gapless manner, the sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) into the filling material (4), so that the gapless sequence (15) of longitudinal objects (1) contacts the filling material (4) at the bottom of the formed socket, where the adhesive portion is applied.

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