DEVICE AND METHOD FOR FORMING TIPS OF ROD-SHAPED PRODUCTS FOR THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY - Patent application

Abstract

A device for forming tips of rod-shaped articles, comprising: a drum conveyor (26) having at least one flute (28) for transporting the rod-shaped articles (1, 5, 10, 15) transversely to an axis (k) of the rod-shaped articles (1, 5, 10, 15), the flute (28) for transporting the rod-shaped articles (1, 5, 10, 15) being configured to move along a first circular path (s); a first pressing element (32, 51) configured to move along a second circular path (r) and a second pressing element (33, 45, 53) configured to move along a third circular path (t), the third circular path (t) being positioned opposite the second circular path (s) with respect to the first circular path (r), and the first pressing element ( The first pressing element (32, 51) and the second pressing element (33, 45, 53) form a pair (34, 47, 50) of pressing elements positioned opposite each other, and at least one pressing element (32, 33, 51, 53) of the pair (34, 47, 50) of the pressing elements (32, 33, 45, 51, 53) has a concave forming surface (35, 36, 52, 54). and press elements (33, 45, 53) configured to move linearly towards and away from each other along an axis (Y) of the flutes (28) that is transverse to the first circular path (s), and the first circular path (s), the second circular path (r), and the third circular path (t) are arranged coaxially.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for forming tips of rod-shaped articles, a device for producing rod-shaped articles and a method for forming tips of rod-shaped articles relating to the tobacco industry, in particular tips of cardboard tubes. [Background technology]

[0002] Tobacco industry products, such as cigarettes, cigarillos, filter rods, and semi-finished products, such as mouthpieces, filter segments, have a cylindrical shape and are generally defined as rod-shaped articles. Tobacco industry rod-shaped articles are usually filled with tobacco, tobacco-containing materials, filtering materials, or filled with elements for directing tobacco smoke, or filled with elements having other functions, for example, elements for imparting aromas. The filling material of the rod-shaped article may be glued to the wrapper, or the wrapper may be wrapped around the filling material. If the adhesive is not strong enough or the wrapper is not fixed sufficiently, the filling material may fall out of the wrapper, resulting in low quality and low efficiency of the rod-shaped article. It is therefore necessary to increase the quality of the rod-shaped article by preventing the filling material from falling out of the wrapper.

[0003] Also, in multi-segment mouthpieces, thin-walled tubes are often used as distance elements for adjacent segments, but due to the thin wall thickness, there is a risk that the adjacent elements will at least partially enter such thin-walled tubes. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a device for forming the tip of a rod-like article in the form of a tube, so that the formed tip can act as a restraining element for the adjacent segments in the multi-segment mouthpiece. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the invention relates to a device for forming the tips of rod-like articles, comprising a drum conveyor having at least one flute for transporting rod-like articles transversely to the axis of the rod-like articles, the flute for transporting the rod-like articles being configured to move along a first circular path. The device is also provided with a first press element configured to move along a second circular path and a second press element configured to move along a third circular path, the third circular path being positioned opposite the second circular path with respect to the first circular path, the first press element and the second press element forming a pair of press elements positioned opposite each other, at least one press element of the pair of press elements having a concave forming surface. The press elements are configured to move linearly towards and away from each other along the axis of the flute, which is transverse to the first circular path. The first circular path, the second circular path and the third circular path are arranged coaxially.

[0005] The concave forming surface may be a surface selected from the group including a spherical surface, a parabolic surface, and a conical surface.

[0006] A protrusion for forming the tip of the rod-shaped article may be positioned on the concave forming surface.

[0007] The protrusion may have the form of a cylindrical pin.

[0008] The protrusion may have the form of a conical pin.

[0009] Both press elements may have concave forming surfaces.

[0010] The first pressing element may have a concave forming surface and the second pressing element is a support element terminated in a flat support surface.

[0011] The press element may be slidably mounted to the rotating disc.

[0012] An object of the present invention is also a device for manufacturing rod-shaped products for the tobacco industry, comprising a supply device for supplying said rod-shaped products, a transport device for transporting said rod-shaped products, a device for supplying a filling material to said rod-shaped products, and a forming device for forming a tip of the rod-shaped products as described above, positioned along the transport path of said rod-shaped products downstream of the device for supplying a filling material to said rod-shaped products.

[0013] An object of the invention is also a method for forming tips of rod-like articles, comprising the steps of positioning the rod-like article relative to a flute on a first circular path of movement and transporting the rod-like article along said first circular path transverse to the axis of the rod-like article, transporting coaxially arranged press elements in pairs along a second circular path and synchronous with the movement of the rod-like article along a third circular path, said third circular path being positioned on the opposite side of the second circular path with respect to said first circular path, and linearly moving the press elements towards and away from each other along the axis of the flute transverse to the first circular path. At least one press element from said pair of press elements has a concave forming surface such that linear movement of the press elements towards each other causes a reduction in the diameter of at least one tip of the rod-like article. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] The object of the invention is illustrated in detail by means of embodiments in the drawings.

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 shows a first rod-shaped article in the form of a tube. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows the rod-shaped article of FIG. 1 having two formed tips. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 shows the rod-shaped article of FIG. 1 having one formed tip. [Figure 4]FIG. 2 shows a second rod-shaped article in the form of a tube with a filling. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows the rod-shaped article of FIG. 4 having two formed tips. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 shows a third rod-shaped article in the form of a tube having a filling in the form of a mass. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 shows the rod-shaped article of FIG. 6 having two formed tips. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 shows a fourth rod-shaped article in the form of a tube having a filling in the form of a filled tube. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 shows the rod-shaped article of FIG. 8 having two formed tips. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 shows a device for forming the tip of a rod-shaped article in a front view. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a transport device of the device for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article of the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a transport device of the device for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article of the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a transport device of a device for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article of the second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a transport device of a device for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article of the second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a transport device of a device for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article according to the third embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a transport device of a device for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article according to the third embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 shows an isometric view of a device for producing rod-shaped articles according to a first embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 2 shows an isometric view of a device for producing rod-shaped articles according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a first rod-like article 1 in the form of a cardboard tube with a wall 2 and a longitudinal axis k, where the rod-like article has an outer diameter D and an inner diameter d. The rod-like article 1 has two straight cut tips 3 and 4. The rod-like article has a cylindrical shape, usually obtained by cutting the tube from a continuous tube during a previous production stage. FIG. 2 shows a rod-like article 1' with a crimped tip 3', a crimped tip 4' formed by crimping the tip 3, the tip 4 on a device according to the invention. The crimped tips 3', the crimped tips 4' can have the form of a spherical section with a radius of curvature R equal to half the diameter D or they can have any other rounded surface. FIG. 3 shows a tube 1″ having a first rounded tip 3′, e.g., tube 1′, and a second straight cut non-crimped tip 4. The crimped tip 3′, 4′ has an opening having an inner diameter d1 smaller than the inner diameter d in the central section of the tube 1′, 1″. It is possible to form the tip 3′, 4′ of the rod-like article 1′ by completely closing the tip.

[0017] The second rod-shaped article 5 as shown in FIG. 4 comprises a cardboard tube 6 with two straight cut tips 7, 8 and a filling 9. The filling may be tobacco material or a material made of tobacco, it may be a filtering material or any other preformed material, or it may be a material that is formed during the filling of the rod-shaped article, for example a foam. The filling 9 may be fixed to the tube 6 using an adhesive or may simply be inserted into the tube 6. FIG. 5 shows a rod-shaped article 5' formed after crimping the tips 7, 8 of the rod-shaped article 5 of FIG. 4. The crimped tips 7', 8' may have any rounded surface. The crimped tips 7', 8' protect the filling 9 from falling out of the rod-shaped article 5. The crimping may be small, for example comparable to the thickness of the wall 6.

[0018] The third rod-like article 10 as shown in FIG. 6 comprises a tube 11, for example a cardboard tube, with two straight cut tips 12, a tip 13 and a filling in the form of an object 14 that partially fills the tube 11. The object 14 may have the form of a capsule with an aromatic substance or another element with a filling material, for example a rounded longitudinal or spherical element. The object 14 may have the form of a longitudinal cylindrical capsule made of an openwork or perforated material filled with a granular substance, for example filled with activated carbon. The object 14 may be loosely or tightly inserted into the tube 11 with an internal diameter d. FIG. 7 shows a rod-like article 10' formed after crimping the tips 12, 13 of the rod-like article 10 of FIG. 6. The diameter d1 of the opening of the formed tips 12', 13' is smaller than the diameter of the object 14, protecting the object 14 from falling out of the tube 11.

[0019] A fourth rod-like article 15 as shown in FIG. 8 comprises a cardboard tube 16 having two straight cut tips 17, a tip 18, and an object 19 including a tube 20 and a filling 21, where the tube 20 has an outer diameter d2 smaller than the inner diameter d of the tube 16. FIG. 9 shows a rod-like article 15' formed after crimping the tips 17, 18 of the rod-like article 15 of FIG. 8. The crimped tips 17', 18' restrict the object 19 inside the tube 16. The diameter d1 of the opening of the formed tips 17', 18' is smaller than the outer diameter d2 of the object 19. The filtering material may be positioned inside the tube 20, whereas the rod-like article 15 may be placed in a cigarette mouthpiece such that the formation of the tips 17', 18' provides that tobacco smoke flows only through the inside of the object 19, i.e. through the filtering material and not around the object 19.

[0020] FIG. 10 shows a part of the device for forming rod-shaped article tips of the first embodiment. The device is equipped with a rotary drum conveyor 25, a rotary drum conveyor 26 and a rotary drum conveyor 27, by means of which the rod-shaped articles 1 with straight cut tips and the rod-shaped articles 1' with formed tips as shown in FIG. 1 are transported inside the flutes 28 and are held in these flutes by means of negative pressure. The drum conveyor 25 delivers the rod-shaped articles 1 to the receiving area 29 of the drum conveyor 26. The rod-shaped articles 1 received by the drum conveyor 26 are transported to the forming area 30 and the formed rod-shaped articles 1' are transported in the transfer area 31 onto the drum conveyor 27. On both sides of the drum conveyor 26 (before and after the conveyor as shown in FIG. 10, i.e. before and after the plane of the drawing), pressing elements 32, 33 are positioned as shown in the AA section in FIG. 11. The pressing elements 32, 33 rotate about the axis of rotation X of the drum conveyor 26, which has the same speed as the conveyor. A pair 34 of pressing elements 32, 33 is positioned at each flute such that the axes m and n of the pressing elements 32, 33 are arranged coaxially with the Y axis of the flute 28. During operation of the device, the axes m and n also coincide with the axis k of the rod-like article 1 placed and held in the flute 28. The first pressing element 32 is provided with a concave forming surface 35, and likewise the second pressing element 33 is provided with a concave forming surface 36. As shown, the forming surfaces 35, 36 have a spherical shape, where the center of the spherical forming surface 35, 36 can be located on the axis m and axis n. The forming surfaces 35, 36 may have any other rounded shape, for example the forming surfaces may have the shape of a paraboloid. Forming surfaces 35, 36 may have a conical shape. By using conical forming surfaces, slight crimping of the tip of the rod-like article with respect to the cylindrical side of the article is achieved. Press element 32 is slidably mounted on rotating disk 37 with mandrel 38, where press element 33 is slidably mounted on rotating disk 39 with mandrel 40.The axis of the mandrel 38, 40 may coincide with the center of the forming surface 35, 36. The axis of the rotating disk 37, 39 is rotatably mounted on the X-axis, for example on the drum conveyor 26. The sheet for transporting the rod-shaped articles 1, 1' has the form of a flute 28, which is located on a plane perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in Figs. 11 and 12 and moves together with the transported rod-shaped articles 1, 1' along a circular path s shown in the perspective view of Fig. 17. The first pressing element 32 moves along a second circular path r in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in Figs. 11 and 12. Here, the second pressing element 33 moves along a third circular path t also in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of Figures 11 and 12, the second path r and the third path t being located opposite the first path s and may be arranged symmetrically with respect to the plane of the first circular path s, the axes of the circular paths s, r and t coinciding with each other and with the X-axis of rotation.

[0021] Figure 12 shows a cross section BB of the pair 34 of press elements 32, 33 of Figure 11 positioned in the forming area 30 as shown in Figure 10. During rotation of the drum conveyor 26 and the disks 37, 39, the ends 43, 44 of the mandrels 38, 40 come into contact with the fixed rotatable rollers 41, 42, which causes the mandrels 38, 40 to move towards the flutes 28 and towards the rod-shaped articles 1, causing a movement of the press elements 32, 33 towards each other, which causes a movement of each forming element 32, 33 towards each rod-shaped article 1, i.e., a crimping of the tips 3, 4 and thus their formation into the shape of the first forming surface 35 and the second forming surface 36, respectively. In Figure 12, the forming surfaces 35, 36 remain in contact with the crimped or formed tips 3', 4' of the rod-shaped articles 1'. The movement of the pressing elements 32, 33 away from each other, i.e. back to the initial position, can be performed by means of springs, not shown in the drawings. The movement of the pressing elements 32, 33 towards and away from each other is performed transversely to the plane of the circular path s, i.e. it is performed along a Y axis parallel to the X axis of rotation.

[0022] FIG. 13 shows a cross-section of the second embodiment of a device for forming the tip of a rod-shaped article as shown in FIG. 11, where a pair of press elements 47 has a press element 32 including a spherical forming surface 35 and a press element 45 including a flat support surface 46, which forms a lower portion 48 of a cylindrical socket in the press element 45. During rotation of the drum conveyor 26 and the rotating disk 37, 39, the ends 43, 44 of the mandrels 38, 40 come into contact with the rotating fixed rollers 41, 42 (FIG. 14), which causes the mandrels 38, 40 to move towards the flutes 28 and towards the rod-like article 1, i.e. the mandrels 38, 40 move towards each other along the Y axis, causing the movement of the pressing elements 32, 45 towards the rod-like article 1, which causes the crimping of the tip 3' and thus forming the tip 3' into the shape of the first forming surface 35, respectively, where the flat support surface 46 forms a support surface in the process of forming the tip 3'. FIG. 14 shows the forming surface 35 and the flat support surface 46 remaining in contact with the formed tip 3' and the straight cut tip 4, respectively.

[0023] FIG. 15 shows a cross section of the device for forming the tip of a rod-like article of the third embodiment as shown in FIG. 11, where the pair of forming elements 50 has a forming element 51 with a spherical forming surface 52 and a pressing element 53 with a spherical forming surface 54, where a protrusion 55 in the form of a cylindrical pin is centrally positioned on the forming surface 52 and a protrusion 56 in the form of a cylindrical pin is centrally positioned on the forming surface 54. The protrusions 55, 56 can have the form of a conical pin. During operation of the device, the pressing elements 51, 53 move towards the flutes 28 and towards the rod-like article 1, causing the crimping of the tips 3', 4' to the shape of the forming surfaces 52, 54, respectively, where the outer diameter of the pins 55, 56 forms an opening at the tips 3', 4' and defines the diameter of this opening. Due to this, the diameter of the opening of the formed tip is not smaller than the diameter of the protrusions. 16 shows forming surface 52, forming surface 54 remaining in contact with formed tip 3', tip 4', respectively. Cylindrical pins may also be used on flat support surfaces, for example surface 46 in the second embodiment, and may be utilized to set the position of rod-like article 1 on its inner surface d. Linear movement of the pressing element may be accomplished, for example, in the previous embodiments.

[0024] The press element may be mounted on a rotatable mechanism, where an actuating element on which the press element is mounted performs a linear movement and the axis of rotation of the mechanism is positioned on the axis of the circular movement path of the press element.

[0025] In each of the foregoing embodiments of a device for forming a tip of a rod-like article, the linear movement of the press elements towards and away from one another may be achieved using a cam mechanism.

[0026] Fig. 17 shows in simplified form a device 101 for producing rod-shaped articles for the tobacco industry equipped with a feeding device 57 for feeding rod-shaped articles in the form of tubes, for example in the form of a drum conveyor, a transport device 58 for transporting the rod-shaped articles and a device for feeding the rod-shaped articles with a filling material 59 and a forming device 100 for forming the tips of the rod-shaped articles as described above. The axis of rotation of the drum conveyor is arranged in the horizontal direction. The device for feeding the filling material 59 can be configured to feed capsules, rod-shaped articles or other irregular objects.

[0027] FIG. 18 shows in simplified form a device 101' for producing rod-shaped articles for the tobacco industry, equipped with a feeding device 57' for feeding rod-shaped articles in the form of tubes, for example in the form of a drum conveyor, a transport device 58' for transporting the rod-shaped articles and a device for feeding the rod-shaped articles with a filling 59' and a forming device 100' for forming the tips of the rod-shaped articles as described above. In this embodiment, the axis of rotation of the drum conveyor is arranged vertically. The device for feeding the filling 59' can be configured to feed capsules, rod-shaped articles or irregular objects. The device for feeding the filling 59' can also be used to fill the inside of the formed rod-shaped articles 1" with a granular material, for example activated carbon, i.e. rod-shaped articles that are closed on one side, in which case the device 100' for forming the tips completely closes the other tip of the article.

Claims

1. 1. A device for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article, comprising: a drum conveyor having at least one flute for transporting the rod-shaped articles transversely to an axis of the rod-shaped articles, the flute for transporting the rod-shaped articles being configured to move along a first circular path; a first press element configured to move along a second circular path and a second press element configured to move along a third circular path, the third circular path being positioned opposite the second circular path with respect to the first circular path, the first press element and the second press element forming a pair of press elements positioned opposite each other, at least one press element of the pair of press elements having a concave forming surface, - the pressing elements are configured to move linearly towards and away from each other along an axis of the flutes that is transverse to the first circular path; - a device, wherein the first circular path, the second circular path and the third circular path are arranged coaxially.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the concave forming surface is a surface selected from the group consisting of a spherical surface, a parabolic surface, and a conical surface.

3. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein a protrusion for forming the tip of the rod-shaped article is positioned on the concave forming surface.

4. The device of claim 3 , wherein the protrusion has the form of a cylindrical pin.

5. The device of claim 3 , wherein the protrusion has the form of a conical pin.

6. The device according to claim 1 , wherein both press elements have the concave forming surface.

7. 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first pressing element has the concave forming surface and the second pressing element is a support element terminated in a flat support surface.

8. The device according to claim 1 , wherein the pressing element is slidably mounted on a rotating disc.

9. A device for producing rod-shaped products for the tobacco industry, comprising: - a supply device for supplying said rod-shaped articles, a transport device for transporting said rod-shaped articles; - a device for supplying a filling to said rod-shaped article; a forming device for forming a tip of the rod-shaped article according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which is positioned along a transport path of the rod-shaped article downstream of the device for supplying the filler to the rod-shaped article; A device comprising:

10. 1. A method for forming a tip of a rod-shaped article, comprising the steps of: - positioning said rod-shaped article in a flute on a first circular path and transporting said rod-shaped article along said first circular path transversely to an axis of said rod-shaped article; - transferring coaxially arranged pressing elements in pairs along a second circular path and synchronously with the movement of the rod-like articles along a third circular path, said third circular path being positioned on the opposite side of the second circular path with respect to the first circular path; - moving said pressing elements linearly towards and away from each other along the axis of said flutes transverse to said first circular path; and - at least one press element from said pair of press elements has a concave forming surface such that linear movement of said press elements towards each other causes a reduction in the diameter of at least one tip of said rod-like article.

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