Holder unit for use in web exchangers for tobacco industry materials

Abstract

The subject of the present application is a holder unit (12) for use in a tobacco industry material web exchanger for use in a system for the production of tobacco industry products, said holder unit (12) comprising a holder (13) adapted to hold a tobacco industry material web (2, 6) on a material reel (5a, 5b, 7a, 7b) in said exchanger (3, 4) and to release said tobacco industry material web (2, 6) from said material reel (5a, 5b, 7a, 7b), said holder unit (12) being arranged on a carrier part (14) which is mounted rotatably with respect to an axis (Xa, Xb) of axles (15a, 15b) on which said material reels (5a, 5b, 7a, 7b) are fixed. The carrier part (14) is configured to rotate together with the spindles (15a, 15b) of the material reels in the changer (3, 4) when the holder (13) holds the material web (2, 6), and the carrier part (14) is configured to move in an axial direction (T) relative to the axes (Xa, Xb).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The subject of the invention is a holder unit for use in a web changer for tobacco industry material. [Background technology]

[0002] The tobacco industry uses machines to manufacture filter or tobacco rods. Such machines form a continuous web of filter material from an array of finite length segments or lengths of fiber. The continuous rod thus formed is then cut into single rods of predetermined length.

[0003] To continuously manufacture tobacco products, it is necessary to have an uninterrupted supply of both the web of packaging material and the web of filter material. This is achieved, for example, by using a tobacco overtime material web changer mechanism, which can place two reels of tobacco industry material on top of each other. During the manufacturing process, the machine takes a continuous material web from a first reel, when the material of the second reel goes into standby mode, and waits until the end of the material web of the first reel is joined to the beginning of the material web of the second reel.

[0004] The joining of these two material webs to the machine is achieved by embossing the two ends of the overlapping material webs or by gluing them together with double-sided tape, which is usually applied to the leading edge of the material web that is to be spooled onto a new reel. Products made from webs containing such material joints are considered defective and must be rejected from further production.

[0005] The process of splicing two webs of material during production usually requires stopping or slowing down the machine or using a buffer in which a length of the web of material is stored. By selecting a buffer during the web splicing process, it is possible to perform the splice without stopping. It is important to make the splice so that there is as little waste as possible at the end of the web that is cut from the splice point to the end of the web, or to avoid having to discard the product where the splice point is later formed.

[0006] In the prior art there are known methods and machines in the tobacco industry that use devices for joining material webs.

[0007] The patent US 2005 / 0133963 presents a method and a device for splicing material webs on a machine for manufacturing products of the tobacco industry. The machine comprises a device for changing the material web wound on a reel and a buffer for storing the material webs. When the first material web runs out, a second reel with a second material web waits on the changer device. To merge the two webs, the feed speed of the machine is slowed down for the web that is about to finish, or the machine stops completely to perform the merge. At that time, the material web is taken from the buffer in order to maintain the continuity of the manufacturing process.

[0008] US 6,313,633 presents a device for joining two webs of tobacco industry material by using an interrupting unit while moving parallel to each other at the same linear speed. In this solution, a material web is unwound from a new reel parallel to the leading edge of the web material. The process of joining several webs is based on embossing both webs with the moleskin surface of the joining unit, while moving both webs at the same time and with the same speed. After embossing, the end web of material is cut off, as well as the beginning of the new web, which is unwound from the reel to match the speed at which the web runs out.

[0009] Patent document 3 presents a method and device for joining two tobacco industry material webs with a double-sided adhesive tape. A strip of double-sided adhesive tape is inserted between the outgoing material web and the new material web by a feeding device. After joining the two material webs, the end of the tail web is cut off.

[0010] US Patent No. 4,393,633 discloses an apparatus for unwinding reels of web material fed to a production line. In particular, the apparatus relates to an apparatus for unwinding reels of tissue paper of the kind widely used to produce toilet paper, kitchen towels, etc. Such an apparatus has the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0011] US Pat. No. 5,399,633 discloses a web replenishing or splicing mechanism, in which a rotatable replenishing web roll is provided with a paste section and has a rotational speed accelerated to a consolidation speed before being consolidated by said paste section into the web in use. More specifically, said web replenishing or splicing mechanism functions such that a shield rotates simultaneously with the roll and protects the paste section while the roll is brought up to the desired speed. The shield is then released from the drive means and is thus blocked to expose the paste section. The roll continues to rotate while the paste section is being made. Such an apparatus has the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0012] US Patent No. 6,399,633 discloses a method and an apparatus by which the splicing of a fresh roll to a moving web can be done so reliably that a significant saving in material that would previously have been wasted can be realized, but in a very simple and economical way, since it installs an existing roll stand which can be easily adapted to achieve this saving. The disclosed apparatus has the features of the preamble of claim 1.

[0013] Known solutions in the prior art use methods from the tobacco industry for splicing multiple continuous webs of material, in which a significant amount of the web unwound from the reel is cut off in order to achieve a speed that approaches the feed rate of the material web in use during the splicing process. All known solutions result in the waste of a large amount of spliced ​​web material. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0014] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2015 / 173275 [Patent Document 2] European Patent Publication No. 1389602 [Patent Document 3] European Patent Publication No. 1437055 [Patent Document 4] US Patent Application Publication No. 2008 / 230646 [Patent Document 5] U.S. Patent No. 2,205,867 [Patent Document 6] U.S. Patent No. 3,172,613 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0015] The prior art does not solve the problem of producing large amounts of exhaust material during the web splicing process while maintaining sufficient protection speed without requiring additional storage buffers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0016] The essence of the invention is a holder unit for use in a changer of tobacco industry material webs used in a production system for tobacco industry products, the holder unit comprising a holder arranged to hold a continuous web of tobacco industry material on a material reel in said changer and to release said tobacco industry material from said material reel. The holder is provided on a carrier part mounted to rotate about the axis of a spindle to which the material reel is fixed. The carrier part is arranged to rotate together with the spindle of the material reel in the changer when the holder holds the material web. According to the invention, the holder unit is characterised in that the carrier part is arranged for axial movement relative to a plurality of axes.

[0017] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that, when not holding the material web on the material reel in the changer, the carrier part is configured to rotate freely around the axis of the mandrel.

[0018] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that, when the holder unit is not holding the material web on the material reel in the exchanger, the carrier part is configured to rotate together with the mandrel around the axis of the mandrel.

[0019] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that it is configured to release the material web when the carrier moves axially relative to the shaft in a direction towards the material reel.

[0020] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that the carrier part comprises a counterweight located on the opposite side of the axis of rotation relative to the holder.

[0021] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized by having peripherally arranged holes arranged to cooperate with blocking pins for positioning the carrier part relative to the pins.

[0022] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that it comprises peripherally arranged holes adapted to cooperate with blocking pins for positioning the carrier part relative to the mandrel.

[0023] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that it comprises means for electromagnetically coupling the carrier part with the mandrel.

[0024] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that the carrier part is arranged to be driven independently of the mandrel.

[0025] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that the holder is configured to incline relative to the carrier part in a direction having a radial component relative to the axis of rotation.

[0026] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that the carrier part is an arm.

[0027] Preferably, the holder unit is characterized in that the carrier part is a disk.

[0028] The object of the present invention is to ensure that two webs of material are joined at a sufficient production rate without the need to store web buffers. An advantage of the present invention is that production efficiency is increased by maintaining a constant production rate while changing the webs of material. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0029] The subject matter of the invention is illustrated in greater detail in the drawings in which preferred embodiments are shown.

[0030] [Figure 1] 1 shows a machine for producing tobacco products from a continuous web of material, having two exchangers. [Diagram 2] 1 represents a machine for manufacturing products for the tobacco industry in a second embodiment with one exchanger. [Diagram 3] 1 represents a tobacco industry web changer with a holder unit. [Figure 4] 1 depicts a tobacco industry web exchange in a first position. [Diagram 5] 1 depicts a tobacco industry web exchanger in a second position. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a tobacco industry web changer during acceleration of the second reel. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a tobacco industry web changer during acceleration of the second reel. [Figure 8] 1 represents a web exchanger of tobacco industry material during the web joining process. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a tobacco industry web changer during the release of a holder unit. [Figure 10] 1 represents a tobacco industry web changer after the web joining process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a machine 1 for producing tobacco products R from a continuous web of material 2. In this embodiment, the machine 1 has two exchangers 3 and 4 of tobacco industry material webs. The web exchanger 3 is arranged to feed a continuous web of tobacco industry material 2 from reels 5a and 5b, while the web exchanger 4 is arranged to feed a continuous web of packaging material 6 from reels 7a and 7b. The continuous web of tobacco industry material 2 may be paper, processed tobacco, foil or any other material that can be unwound from a reel and that can be used in the tobacco industry. The material web 2 is fed to the machine 1 in the form of reels 5a and 5b, from which it is unwound continuously and subjected to further processing on the machine. After a continuous rod has been preformed from the material web 2 in a forming device 8, the preformed continuous rod is wrapped with a packaging material web 6. The continuous rod CR thus formed is then cut into rods of predetermined length by a cutting head 9 to form the tobacco industry products R.

[0032] To ensure uninterrupted production, additional second reels of material webs 5b and 7b are placed in the web changers 3 and 4, which wait until the material on the first reels 5a and 7a, respectively, is used in the production process. When the material wound on the first reels 5a, 7a approaches the end, the web changers 3, 4 exchange the positions of the reels 5a and 5b, 7a and 7b, and at the same time connect the rear end of the material web 2 from the first reel 5a with the leading end of the material web 2 on the second reel 5b, and the rear end of the material web 6 from the first reel 7a with the leading end of the material web 6 on the second reel 7b. The joining of the material webs is carried out by applying a glue path with a glue nozzle 10 to the leading ends of the material webs located on the second reels 5b, 7b and pressing these webs against the trailing ends of the material webs 2, 6 on the first reels 5b, 7b by the applied glue path.

[0033] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the machine 1 for producing tobacco products with one web exchanger 4. The machine 1 is adapted to produce tobacco products in the form of rods R formed by cutting from a continuous rod CR formed from tobacco material 11. In this embodiment, the material 11 may be tobacco, a material of plant origin, a material of organic origin, a material of inorganic origin or other materials not mentioned but approved for use in the tobacco industry. The manner in which the material web from the reel 7a is joined with the material web on the reel 7b is similar to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the machine 1 comprises a forming unit 8 for forming a rod from the material 11, which is wrapped with a web of wrapping material 6 to form a continuous rod CR wrapped with wrapping material.

[0034] FIG. 3 shows a material web exchanger 3, 4 with a holder unit 12 arranged to hold an end of a material web wound on a reel (not shown) with a holder 13. The holder 13 is rotatably mounted on a support 14. In this embodiment, the function of the carrier part 14 of the holder 13 is performed by an arm. In other embodiments of the invention, the carrier part 14 may be realized in the form of a disk. The function of the carrier part 14 is to hold the holder 13 in a corresponding radial position with respect to the rotation axes Xa, Xb. The pivoting movement of the holder 13 in this embodiment is forced by a spring part 17, e.g. a spring, and a positioning part 31. The positioning part 31 biases the pivoting movement of the holder 13 away from the mandrels 15a, 15b by performing a reciprocating movement S towards the holder unit 12, in particular towards a cooperating part 32 located at the other end of the holder unit 12 opposite the holder 13. When the holder 13 is in the waiting position, the protective layer of the material web is removed from the second reel 5b, 7b by means of a reel opening (not shown). Instead of the spring part 17, it is also possible to use an actuator or a linkage which moves the holder 13 in the direction towards the mandrel axis Xa, Xb. The carrier part 14 and the disk 16 are rotatably mounted with respect to the axis Xa, Xb of the mandrel 15a, 15b, on which the reel (5a, 5b, 7a, 7b) with the wound material web is arranged. The disk 16 has positioning holes 18 for appropriately adjusting and blocking the position of the holder 13 with respect to the leading edge of the web 23 arranged on the material reel. The holes 18 in the disk 16 are preferably arranged in the circumferential direction. The holder 12 is preferably connected to the disk 16. However, when the holder 13 releases the material web, the holder 12 is detached from the disk 16 and is free to move on the mandrels 15a, 15b until it reaches its rest position. Advantageously, the holder 12 is provided with a counterweight (not shown) which is located on the opposite side of the axis of rotation Xa, Xb of the carrier part 14 to the holder 13. In the example of an embodiment in which the carrier part is in the form of a disk, the holes 18 are formed in the disk which serves as the carrier part 14.

[0035] Alternatively, each of the mandrels 15a, 15b has its own drive (not shown) for rotating the reels 5a, 5b, 7a, 7b carrying the material, or alternatively, each holder 12 can have its own independent drive for rotating the holder 12 about the axis Xa, Xb of the mandrel 15a, 15b.

[0036] Figure 4 shows the changer 3, 4 during production when removing the material web 2, 6 from the first reel 5a, 7a. The material web in this embodiment is a packaging material web, but any other material approved for use in the tobacco industry in the form of a web wound on a reel can be used. Before changing the position of the disk 20, a second material reel 5b, 7b is placed on the mandrel 15b, from which the top protective layer of the material web is cut automatically (by a mechanism not shown) or manually by the operator.

[0037] After cutting the protective layer, the mandrel 15b together with the positioned second material reel 5b, 7b performs a rotational movement in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation R2 (shown in FIG. 5) in order to wind up on the reel 5b, 7b the remaining part of the material web unwound from the reel 5b, 7b, which is suitable for further use in production. The reel 5b, 7b can perform the required number of rotations or a certain angle of rotation until the leading edge of the web 23 is at least partially adjacent to the outer peripheral surface 21 of the reel 5b, 7b. After the web has been wound on the second reel 5b, 7b, the positioning part 31 releases the cooperating part 32 of the holder unit 12, thereby causing a pivoting movement of the holder 13 in the direction towards the axis Xb of the mandrel 15b, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the leading edge of the web 23 is held by the holder 13.

[0038] Holding the leading edge of the material web 23 is intended to maintain its invariable position relative to the second reel 5b, 7b. It can be seen that by holding the leading edge of the web 23, the material web does not unwind from the second reel 5b, 7b during the change of position of the disk 20 from the first position to the second position, which occurs during the exchange of the web and the acceleration of the second reel 5b, 7b, in particular because the leading edge of the web 23 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface 21 of the second reel 5b, 7b with the holder 13. When the sensor 19 detects the approach of the end of the material web 2, 6 on the first reel 5a, 7a, the exchanger 3, 4, assuming the arrangement shown in Fig. 5, rotates the disk 20 with the holder 12 mounted thereon together with the material reels 5a, 5b, 7a, 7b from the first position to the second position in the direction indicated by the arrow R1. Before starting the change of the position of the disk 20, the second reel 5b, 7b is rotated in the direction R2 around the X-axis of the spindle 15b. Together with the second reel 5b, 7b, the holder unit 12 with the holder 13 is rotated, as shown in a side view in Fig. 6. The holder unit 12 in this position is moved towards the second reel 5b, 7b and positioned and engaged with the block part 22 cooperating with the positioning hole 18 arranged on the disk 16. This positioning consists in adjusting the holder unit 12 so that the position of the holder 13 coincides with the position of the leading end of the web 23, i.e. so that the holder 13 is located at the same place on the outer circumferential surface of the second reel 5b, 7b as the leading end of the web 23. The blocking part 22 may be a blocking pin 30 cooperating with a positioning hole 18, as shown in the present embodiment, or it may be an electromagnet, a gearbox, an electronic lock between the synchronous drive 27 of the pins 15a, 15b and the independent drive 28 of the holder unit 12, or any other solution making it possible to temporarily maintain constant the position of the holder 13 relative to the tip of the web 23.

[0039] At the same time, the material web 2, 6 is removed from the first reel 5a, 7a while moving along the outer circumferential surface 21 of the second reel 5b, 7b with a rotational speed VR. The rotational speed VR measured at the outer periphery of the second reel 5b, 7b corresponds to a linear speed that is substantially equal to or close to the linear speed VL of the removed material web 2, 6 along the section where the material web 2, 6 is displaced tangentially to the outer circumferential surface 21 of the second reel 5b, 7b. Because both speeds are substantially equal, slippage between the material web 2, 6 and the outer circumferential surface 21 of the second reel 5b, 7b is minimized or completely eliminated.

[0040] Figure 7 shows in a top view the exchanger 3, 4 holding the leading edge of the web 23 on the second reel 5b, 7b. In this embodiment, a web of material of much greater width than, for example, a web of packaging material is wound on the second reel 5b, 7b. In the top view, it can be seen that the holder 13 holds the leading edge of the web 23, which has been cut obliquely from the edge side 25 of the second reel 5b, 7b. The angle at which the leading edge of the web 23 is cut is comprised in the range of 15 to 60°, more preferably in the range of 30 to 45°.

[0041] After a signal from the sensor 19, the taken-up webs 2, 6 of the first reels 5a, 7a are cut by a cutting unit 29 and a glue path is applied by the glue nozzle 10 to the outer peripheral surface 21 of the second reel 5b, 7b, so that the end 24 of the taken-up webs 2, 6 is glued to the leading end of the material web 23 on the second reel 5b, 7b shown in FIG. 8. In the glue application process, a fast-drying glue is preferably used, which allows the glue application process to be carried out in a very short time. After gluing the end 24 of the taken-up webs 2, 6, it is also possible to clamp the spliced ​​part of the webs, for example by means of a pressure roller 26.

[0042] Once the two webs have been bonded, the blocking part 22 is released and the holder unit 12 together with the holder 13 is withdrawn from the working position in the axial direction T along the axis of rotation Xb of the mandrel 15b, as shown in side view in Figure 9. Alternatively, the holder 13 may be withdrawn from the working position by making a movement having a radial component away from the axis Xb.

[0043] After the adhesive application process has taken place, the material webs 2, 6 are removed from the second reels 5b, 7b (FIG. 10) and the cores of the first reels 5a, 7a with the used material wound thereon are removed from the mandrels 15a.

[0044] The material web 2, 6 is removed from the second reel 5b, 7b until an out-of-material signal is received from the sensor 19, after which the entire gluing process is repeated with another new reel of material. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1. Machinery for the manufacture of tobacco industry products 2. Continuous material web 3 Filling material web exchanger 4 Packaging material web exchange machine 5a 1st reel 5b 2nd reel 6 Continuous material web 7a 1st reel 7b 2nd reel 8. Formation Unit 9 Cutting Head 10 Adhesive nozzle 11 Tobacco Industry Materials 12 Holder unit 13 Holder 14 Carrier section 15a Mandrel 15b Mandrel 16 Disc 17 Spring section 18 Positioning hole 19 Sensors 20 Disc 21 Reel Circumference 22 Block section 23 End of material web 24 End of acquired web 25 Edge of reel 26 Pressure roller 27 Axle drive 28 Holder unit drive section 29 Cut section 30 Block Pin 31 Positioning section 32 Collaboration Department Xa, Xb Mandrel axis CR Continuous Rod R Tobacco Industry Products R1 Disc rotation direction R2 Second reel spin direction VL Linear speed of acquired material web VR 2nd reel spin speed S Positioning part movement direction T Holder retraction direction from operating position

Claims

1. A holder unit for use in a tobacco industry material web changer used in a manufacturing system for tobacco industry products, the holder comprising a holder arranged to hold a continuous web of tobacco industry material on a material reel in the changer and to release the tobacco industry material from the material reel, the holder is mounted on a carrier part mounted to rotate about the axis of a mandrel on which the material reel is fixed; the carrier portion is configured to rotate together with the mandrel of the material reel in the changer when the holder holds the material web; A holder unit, characterized in that the carrier part is configured for axial movement relative to the axis.

2. 2. The holder unit according to claim 1, wherein the carrier portion is configured to rotate freely around the axis of the mandrel when not holding the material web on the material reel in the changer.

3. 2. The holder unit according to claim 1, wherein the carrier portion is configured to rotate together with the mandrel around the axis of the mandrel when the holder unit is not holding the material web on the material reel in the changer.

4. 2. The holder unit according to claim 1, wherein the holder unit is configured to release the material web when the carrier part moves axially relative to the shaft in a direction towards the material reel.

5. 5. A holder unit according to claim 4, wherein the carrier portion comprises a counterweight located on the opposite side of the rotation axis relative to the holder.

6. 6. A holder unit according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises peripherally arranged holes adapted to cooperate with blocking pins to position the carrier part relative to said pins.

7. 6. A holder unit according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises peripherally arranged holes adapted to cooperate with blocking pins for positioning the carrier part relative to the mandrel.

8. 8. A holder unit according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises means for electromagnetically coupling said carrier part with said mandrel.

9. 9. A holder unit according to claim 8, characterized in that the carrier part is configured to be driven independently of the mandrel.

10. 10. A holder unit according to claim 9, characterized in that the holder is arranged to be inclined relative to the carrier part in a direction having a radial component relative to the axis of rotation.

11. 11. The holder unit according to claim 10, wherein the carrier portion is an arm.

12. 11. The holder unit according to claim 1, wherein the carrier part is a disk.

Images