Conveying member for conveying rod-like articles in the tobacco-processing industry transversely to the axial direction

Abstract

The invention relates, inter alia, to a conveying member (31), in particular a conveying drum (31), for conveying rod-like articles (100) in the tobacco-processing industry, in particular article segments or filter segments or assembled groups of article segments or filter segments, transversely to the axial direction, wherein the conveying member (31) has receiving recesses for the rod-like articles (100), wherein the receiving recesses are arranged transverse-axially one behind the other in the conveying direction, wherein an article head end contact body (42) for contacting the head ends, in particular end sides or end surfaces, of the articles arranged in the receiving recesses is provided in or laterally on the receiving recesses (100), wherein the article head end contact body (42) for the article or articles (100) has an article head end contact surface (48) facing the head ends, in particular end sides or end surfaces, of the articles (100), said article head end contact surface being in particular flat or even or non-curved or smooth, wherein the article head end contact surface (48) has a surface energy of between 10 mN / m and 50 mN / m, preferably between 20 mN / m and 40 mN / m, and / or is formed with a friction-reducing coating (50), in particular a plasma coating.

Description

[0001] Conveyor for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles from the tobacco processing industry

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to a conveying device, in particular a conveying drum, for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, in particular article segments or filter segments or assembled groups of article segments or filter segments.

[0004] Furthermore, the invention relates to a conveying device, in particular a drum arrangement, for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filters or filter segments or cigarettes, as well as a machine of the tobacco processing industry, in particular a multi-segment filter manufacturing machine or filter attachment machine.

[0005] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for manufacturing and / or transversely axially conveying rod-shaped articles for the tobacco processing industry, in particular filters or filter segments or cigarettes, using a friction-reducing coating, in particular plasma coating. In machines for the tobacco processing industry, in particular filter-applying machines or machines for the production of alternative smoking products, such as heat-not-burn products or e-cigarettes, conveying drums are used to transport cigarettes, filter pieces or their components.

[0006] The conveying of the aforementioned rod-shaped objects during the production of cigarettes, filters, filter cigarettes, so-called heat-not-burn products, or e-cigarettes is generally carried out in modern production machines of the tobacco processing industry by means of conveying drums. The outer surface of these drums, or the drum body itself, is equipped with grooves or receiving recesses for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped objects (cigarettes, filter rods or plugs, filter cigarettes). These receiving recesses have a trough base.

[0007] Furthermore, sliding drums are also known as conveying drums, e.g., in filter feeding devices on filter forming machines, on which filter plugs are moved longitudinally axially as rod-shaped articles. In this process, filter rods of multiple lengths are taken from a filter rod magazine in a filter feeding device comprising several transport drums and cut into double-length filter plugs on a cutting drum. After cutting, the filter plugs are staggered on a stepped drum, i.e., each cut filter plug is arranged separately in a recess of the stepped drum, offset from the next filter plug. Subsequently, in a process step, the staggered filter plugs are moved longitudinally axially in the receiving recesses on a sliding drum, so that the filter plugs are then aligned one behind the other in a row in the transverse axial direction.These are the components that transfer the filter plugs, arranged and aligned in a row, from the pusher drum to a subsequent conveying drum. During conveying, these rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry are generally arranged in transversely axial rows in receiving troughs.

[0008] These drums are typically used in the assembly of filter rods and filter cigarettes, whereby filter rod components of multiple usable lengths are prepared in a so-called transverse process, i.e. transverse to their longitudinal axes, by single or multiple subdivision, staggering and arranging them one after the other for their subsequent connection with further filter components or smoking product components.

[0009] EP 1 013 181 A2 discloses a sliding / cutting drum in which the smoking product components or filter pieces in the receiving recesses are pneumatically moved against longitudinally displaceable stops by applying suction air to suction bores of the receiving recesses.

[0010] Furthermore, conveying drums for the tobacco processing industry for conveying rod-shaped articles are known from WO 2012 / 139720 A2 and DE 102019 134 097 A1.

[0011] In the manufacture or further processing of the above-mentioned rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, it is sometimes necessary to move the rod-shaped articles in the direction of their longitudinal axes and to align or position them on the conveyor drum by means of a longitudinal axial displacement.

[0012] One object of the invention is to facilitate the alignment of article segments, for example those provided with a liquid or a susceptor element, when conveying rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, for example on a conveyor drum, with particular emphasis on minimizing the design effort.

[0013] The object is a conveying device, in particular a conveying drum, for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, in particular article segments or filter segments or assembled groups of article segments or filter segments, wherein the conveying device has receiving recesses for the rod-shaped articles, wherein the receiving recesses are arranged transversely one behind the other in the conveying direction, wherein an article head end contact body is provided in or laterally on the receiving recesses for contacting the head ends, in particular end faces or end surfaces, of the articles arranged in the receiving recesses, wherein the article head end contact body has an article head end contact surface facing the head ends, in particular end faces or end surfaces, of the articles, in particular flat or even or non-curved or smooth.wherein the article head end contact surface has a surface energy between 10 mN / m and 50 mN / m, preferably between 20 mN / m and 40 mN / m, and / or is formed with a friction-reducing coating, in particular plasma coating.

[0014] The invention is based on the idea that, in the design of the article head end contact surface, which directly contacts the head ends, in particular end faces or end surfaces, of the rod-shaped articles, with a surface energy between 10 mN / m and 50 mN / m and / or using a friction-reducing coating, in particular plasma coating, for the article head end contact surfaces of the article head end contact bodies in the receiving recesses of the conveying element, in particular the conveying drum, rod-shaped articles, which are provided, for example, with a liquid or a solution and / or with a susceptor or the like, can be positioned safely and precisely, since the head ends, in particular end faces or end surfaces, of the rod-shaped articles to be moved or moved are brought into contact with the article head end contact surfaces facing them.This ensures reliable operation of the conveying device, as the friction or contact friction between the respective end of the rod-shaped articles and the article end contact surface is reduced by the coating or the article end contact surface without a (friction-reducing) coating. This reduces abrasive processes between the end and the article end contact surface and minimizes damage caused by the article segments to the article end contact bodies, especially those that are dimensionally stable and / or inherently rigid. Furthermore, the friction-reducing coating also provides a contamination-inhibiting coating, thus reducing contamination, for example, from liquids escaping from the rod-shaped articles.

[0015] Preferably, the article head end contact bodies are designed as article end face contact bodies for the end faces or end surfaces of the articles or the article head ends. In particular, the article head end contact surface is designed as an article end face contact surface that is preferably brought into contact with the, in particular end-side and / or free, end faces or end surfaces of the articles or the article head ends.

[0016] Preferably, the article head end contact surfaces of the article head end contact bodies are designed to be flat or even, i.e., not curved, or smooth, so that the flat or smooth head ends, in particular end faces or end surfaces, of the, in particular cylindrical or hollow cylindrical, rod-shaped articles, for example article segments, are brought into contact and in particular planar or full-surface contact with the article head end contact surface during a longitudinal axial displacement of the articles.

[0017] Within the scope of the invention, plasma coatings are used as friction-reducing coatings, in particular those applied to the article head end contact bodies by means of PACVD (Plasma-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition) or PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) or PVS. In one embodiment, the conveying element is designed as a conveying drum, wherein the conveying drum has a drum body, in particular a rotatingly driven or rotatable, with receiving recesses for the rod-shaped articles formed one after the other in the circumferential direction of the drum body.

[0018] Preferably, the lower limit of the surface energy, in particular the free energy, in mN / m (millinewtons per meter) is from the group of the following values ​​{10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 48; 49} and the upper limit of the surface energy, in particular the free energy, in mN / m are from the group of the following values ​​{11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 48; 49; 50} selected or predetermined, wherein the lower limit of the surface energy does not exceed the upper limit of the surface energy or the lower limit of the surface energy is equal to the upper limit of the surface energy.

[0019] Surface energy, or surface tension, is a parameter of a surface, such as the contact surface of an article head. This parameter is described as the interaction between cohesive and adhesive forces at the surface of the article head contact area. Specifically, surface energy can be determined according to Young's equation. The surface energy of a coated or uncoated article head contact area can be measured indirectly via the contact angle formed between the solid and a liquid with known surface tension at the interface. For example, the surface energy of a coated (i.e., with a friction-reducing coating) or uncoated (i.e., without a friction-reducing coating) article head contact area can be determined using the static contact angle measurement method, e.g., with water and diiodomethane as polar or polar ionic ions, respectively.nonpolar liquid can be measured.

[0020] Further development of the conveying element is characterized by the fact that the friction-reducing coating has a coefficient of friction (against steel, dry) between 0.03 and 0.30, in particular between 0.07 and 0.20, and / or a hardness between 12 GPa and 30 GPa, in particular between 15 GPa and 25 GPa, or that the article head end contact surface without friction-reducing coating has a coefficient of friction (against steel, dry) between 0.03 and 0.30, in particular between 0.07 and 0.20, and / or a hardness between 12 GPa and 30 GPa, in particular between 15 GPa and 25 GPa. In particular, the friction-reducing coating or the article head end contact surface, which is brought into contact or can be brought into contact directly and without friction-reducing coating with the head ends of the rod-shaped articles or their end faces or end surfaces, has a (water) contact angle between 80° and 110°, preferably between 90° and 105°.In an embodiment where the article head end contact surface is or can be brought directly into contact with the head ends of the articles or their end faces or end surfaces, no friction-reducing coating is provided or applied to the article head end contact surface that contacts the articles.

[0021] The hardness of the article head end contact surface and / or the friction-reducing coating is described in gigapascals (GPa) and is measured or determined, for example, using the standard method ISO 14577-1, such as nanoindentation. The hardness, or indentation hardness (HIT), is a measure of the material's resistance to plastic deformation. The indentation hardness (HIT) is determined, for example, by calculating the tangential curve of the unloading curve and applies to a maximum test force.

[0022] Preferably, the lower limit of hardness in GPa is selected or predetermined from the group of the following values ​​{12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29;} and the upper limit of hardness in GPa is selected or predetermined from the group of the following values ​​{13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30}, wherein the lower limit of hardness does not exceed the upper limit of hardness or the lower limit of hardness is equal to the upper limit of hardness.

[0023] According to a preferred embodiment, the friction-reducing coating is designed as a DLC coating (Diamond-Like Carbon coating), in particular a silicone-doped DLC coating (aC:H:Si coating).

[0024] Preferably, the friction-reducing coating has a layer thickness between 1.0 pm and 15.0 pm, in particular between 1.0 pm and 10.0 pm.

[0025] When a silicon-doped DLC coating is provided as a preferred friction-reducing coating, this coating is characterized by a hardness of 23 GPa to 30 GPa and a coefficient of friction between 0.05 and 0.15. Furthermore, the silicon-doped DLC coating has a surface energy of 30 mN / m to 35 mN / m.

[0026] Furthermore, one embodiment of the conveying element is characterized in that the article head end contact body is made, in particular at least partially or completely, of a plastic, especially polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE-UHMW (polyethylene-ultra-high-molecular-weight)), and / or of a metal, in particular steel or stainless steel. The friction-reducing coating is applied to the article head end contact body made of plastic and / or metal. During operation of the conveying element, the coating of the article head end contact body is brought into contact with the end face or end surface of the articles. In one embodiment of the conveying element, the friction-reducing coating is applied or bonded to the article head end contact surface of the article head end contact body.Within the scope of the invention, it is possible for the friction-reducing coating to be applied to the entire surface or in sections on the article head end contact surface, particularly according to a preferred pattern or arrangement on the article head end contact surface. In the embodiment with a sectioned arrangement of the friction-reducing coating, it is particularly advantageous that the sections of the friction-reducing coating are formed at regular intervals.

[0027] According to a further development of the conveying device, it is provided that the article head end contact body is designed as a stop body for the rod-shaped articles, preferably stationary or movable, wherein in particular the stop body is arranged laterally on at least one side of the receiving recesses or the stop body is arranged in a groove of the receiving recesses for the stop body, in particular between the ends of the receiving recesses, in particular a circumferential groove.

[0028] In one embodiment, the stop element is fixed in position relative to the moving receiving recesses of the conveying element. According to another embodiment, the stop element is movable along the longitudinal extension of the receiving recesses to allow for longitudinal axial displacement of the articles within the respective receiving recess. During longitudinal axial displacement of the rod-shaped articles or article segments within the receiving recesses, they are moved towards the article end contact body or the stop element and brought into contact with the article end contact surface. This ensures precise alignment of the rod-shaped articles, such as article segments, within the receiving recesses.When the article head end contact body is designed as a movable stop element, it is provided that the movable stop element, which is also referred to as a sliding element or the like, is movable within the respective receiving recesses in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the receiving recesses, in particular, for example, by means of a lifting mechanism. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the stop element is designed, for example, as a wedge-shaped element or as a lateral guide element for the rod-shaped articles conveyed transversely by the conveying element.

[0029] In particular, the stop element for the rod-shaped articles to be positioned or moved is designed as a longitudinally extended flat body. In one embodiment, the longitudinally extended flat body is fixedly arranged on one side of the receiving recesses of the conveying element, in particular a conveying drum. In another embodiment, the flat body is positioned, for example, by means of a holder in a groove, particularly a circumferential one, of the receiving recesses between the ends of the receiving recesses. This ensures that the rod-shaped articles or article segments to be moved are arranged in a preferred position within the receiving recesses between the two ends of the respective receiving recess in the area of ​​the article end contact surface before the moved article is transferred to a subsequent conveying element, for example, a conveying drum.

[0030] According to a further embodiment of the conveying element, the article head end contact body is designed as a stop pin or alignment element, preferably rotating with it, wherein the stop pin or alignment element is arranged laterally at one end of the receiving recesses. This makes it possible for the article, such as article segments, to be securely positioned in the region of a lateral end of the receiving recesses by means of the stop pin or alignment element after a longitudinal axial displacement in the direction of the stop pin or alignment element and before being transferred to a subsequent conveying element, such as a conveyor drum.Another further development of the conveying element is characterized by the fact that the article head end contact body is designed as a wobble body, preferably rotating or driven by rotation, in particular a wobble disc, wobble ring or wobble wheel, wherein the wobble body is arranged laterally at one end of the receiving recesses. When designed as a conveying drum, the conveying element is configured as a wobble drum.

[0031] Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the conveying element can be designed as a sliding drum, an alignment drum, a stepped drum, or a cutting drum, wherein the conveying drum has at least one article head end contact body, wherein the article head end contact surface of the article head end contact body has a surface energy between 10 mN / m and 50 mN / m, preferably between 20 mN / m and 40 mN / m, and / or is designed with a friction-reducing coating, in particular plasma coating.

[0032] In one embodiment of the conveying element, it is particularly advantageous that a cleaning device is provided for cleaning the article head contact surface (without friction-reducing coating) or for cleaning the friction-reducing coating. The cleaning device for cleaning the article head contact surface (without friction-reducing coating) or the friction-reducing coating of the article head contact body is preferably an integral part of the conveying element, in particular the conveying drum, and is preferably arranged on the conveying element in the area of ​​the article head contact body. This enables the reduction of contamination on the article head contact body's contact surface during the transverse axial conveying of the rod-shaped articles by means of the conveying element.For example, the cleaning device includes a cleaning material, such as felt or nonwoven fabric or the like, which is brought into contact with the article head end contact surface. In another embodiment, the cleaning device includes a scraper or squeegee.

[0033] Furthermore, the problem is solved by a conveying device, in particular a drum arrangement, for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filters or filter segments or cigarettes, with several conveying devices, in particular conveying drums, for the transverse axial conveying of the rod-shaped articles, wherein at least one conveying element, in particular a conveying drum, is provided as described above.

[0034] The invention provides that the conveying device, preferably designed as a drum assembly, and / or the conveying element, in particular the conveying drum, are components of a machine for the tobacco processing industry. For example, a feeding unit for feeding article segments, such as filter rod segments or the like, comprises a conveying element or a conveying drum, wherein the article end contact surface(s) of at least one article end contact body is / are provided with a surface energy between 10 mN / m and 50 mN / m and / or with a friction-reducing coating. Furthermore, a conveying device with a conveying element, in particular a conveying drum, can be a component of a wrapping unit or a wrapping module for rod-shaped articles, in particular groups of articles.

[0035] In an embodiment according to the invention, the conveying element is designed as a conveying drum, wherein the conveying drum is further designed, for example, as a wobble drum or sliding drum or alignment drum or cutting drum or stepped drum.

[0036] Another solution to the problem is achieved by a machine in the tobacco processing industry, in particular a multi-segment filter manufacturing machine or a filter assembly machine, with at least one conveying element or conveying device as described above. To avoid repetition, explicit reference is made to the above statements.

[0037] Furthermore, the problem is solved by a method for producing and / or conveying rod-shaped articles for the tobacco processing industry, in particular filters or filter segments or cigarettes, using at least one conveying element described according to the invention or using a conveying device disclosed above. Reference is also made to the above explanations in this regard.

[0038] According to a preferred embodiment of the method, it is provided that rod-shaped article groups are produced from several article segments, in particular with more than three or four or five article segments, comprising at least one of the following steps:

[0039] - Providing several article rods, wherein at least one article rod is designed as an aerosol-forming article rod and / or an article rod containing glycerin and / or propylene glycol, - transverse axial conveying of the article rods,

[0040] - Cutting the transversely conveyed article rods into, preferably single-length, double-length, or multi-length, article segments, - optionally staggering the article rod segments, - moving and / or aligning the article rod segments, preferably using a conveying device according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein in particular the article head end contact surface of the conveying device is cleaned by means of a cleaning device and / or wherein in particular the head ends, especially the end faces or the end surfaces of the head ends, of the article rod segments containing glycerin and / or propylene glycol are brought into contact with an article head end contact surface of an article head end contact body of the conveying device during moving and / or aligning and interact,

[0041] - Assembling at least three to nine or more than nine article segments into article segment groups,

[0042] - Manufacturing smoking product groups with three to five or more than five product segments from the assembled groups of product segments.

[0043] In particular, when moving and / or aligning the article bar segments, the head ends, especially the end faces or the end surfaces of the head ends, which are brought into contact with the article head end contact surface of the article head end contact body of the conveying device and interact, are provided with glycerin and / or propylene glycol.

[0044] The problem is further solved by using a friction-reducing coating, in particular a plasma coating, for a conveying device for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles from the tobacco processing industry, especially filters or filter segments or cigarettes. For further details, explicit reference is made to the preceding descriptions of the conveying device.

[0045] Further features of the invention will become apparent from the description of embodiments according to the invention, together with the claims and the accompanying drawings. Embodiments according to the invention may fulfill individual features or a combination of several features.

[0046] The invention is described below, without limiting the general concept of the invention, with reference to exemplary embodiments and the drawings, whereby for all details of the invention not explained in detail in the text, explicit reference is made to the drawings. The drawings show:

[0047] Fig. 1 a schematic view of a machine of the tobacco processing industry, Fig. 2 a schematic cross-sectional view of a conveying drum according to the invention in detail.

[0048] Within the scope of the invention, features marked with "in particular" or "preferably" are to be understood as optional features.

[0049] In the drawings, identical or similar elements and / or parts are provided with the same reference numbers, so that a re-presentation is omitted.

[0050] Fig. 1 shows a machine 2 of the tobacco processing industry for producing rod-shaped multi-segment articles. The machine 2 has a stranding machine 4, for example a crimper or the like, for producing a strand of tobacco material. This strand of tobacco material consists in particular of aerosol-generating tobacco material. This is, for example, reconstituted tobacco material (RECON) provided with an aerosol-generating substance, which is supplied in the form of a flat web. The strand is wrapped with a wrapping material, for example wrapping paper, and cut to length, for example, into aerosol-generating rod-shaped segments using a cutting unit.

[0051] The cut-to-length rod-shaped segments can be twice as long and are, for example, transferred to transfer module 6. In this module, the double-length segments are split into two single-length segments. For example, the end faces of each segment can also be inspected in this context. The aerosol-generating rod-shaped segments contain, for example, a susceptor strip that can be inductively heated using a suitable heating device.

[0052] Machine 2 further includes, by way of example, three feed modules 8a, 8b, 8c, which are generally designated by reference numeral 8. The number of feed modules 8a, 8b, 8c is arbitrary; it can be increased or decreased. Each feed module 8 has a supply, for example, configured as a magazine 10 or a hopper, from which rod-shaped segments are removed by means of a removal / cutting drum 12.

[0053] If the rod-shaped segments in magazine 10 are present in double or multiple working lengths, they are cut to, for example, single or double working lengths by means of the removal / cutting drum 12 and transferred, for example, via a sliding drum 14 and a stepped drum 16, via a sliding drum 18, to a feed drum 20. The aforementioned units are identical in design in the feed modules 8a, 8b, and 8c. For the sake of clarity, they are not labeled with reference numbers in all feed modules 8.

[0054] The rod-shaped segments are conveyed from the feed drum 20 to the conveying drums 22. During the transfer of the rod-shaped segments from the feed drum 20 to the conveying drum 22, the conveying drum 22 combs the segment out of its recess in the feed drum 20 and conveys it transversely along the conveying drum 22 together with other rod-shaped segments already present there. The rod-shaped segments are then assembled on the conveying drums 22. For example, a rod-shaped segment, which is transferred from the transfer module 6 to the first conveying drum 22 of the feed module 8c and which, for instance, contains an aerosol-forming, tobacco-based material, is assembled with another segment. This additional segment is provided by the feed module 8c.Successively, this process involves combining additional segments, such as those provided by feed modules 8b and 8a, so that at the output of feed module 8a, for example, there is a combination of four rod-shaped segments.

[0055] The rod-shaped segments are assembled in the feeding modules 8a, 8b, and 8c. For this reason, the feeding modules 8a, 8b, and 8c are also collectively referred to as the first assembly unit 24a. Generally, an assembly unit should also be designated by the reference numeral 24.

[0056] The assembly of rod-shaped segments is transferred from the first assembly unit 24a to a first wrapping unit 26a. A wrapping unit is also generally referred to by the reference numeral 26. The first wrapping unit 26a has a storage compartment for, for example, web-shaped wrapping material such as wrapping paper or the like. Furthermore, the first wrapping unit 26a includes, by way of example, a cutting device for cutting the wrapping material.

[0057] The cutting device is, for example, a knife roller that interacts with a suction roller positioned opposite it. The cut and spaced strips of wrapping material are fed, for example, to a rolling drum, and the provided assembly of rod-shaped segments is wrapped with the wrapping material on the rolling drum.

[0058] Further downstream of the first wrapping unit 26a, the machine 2 optionally includes a second assembly unit 24b, which also optionally has a single feed module 8. This feed module is identical in design to the feed modules 8a, 8b, or 8c already described. In the second assembly unit 24b, the wrapped segment assembly, which is already considered a rod-shaped multi-segment article, is assembled with another rod-shaped segment.

[0059] Further downstream, in a second wrapping unit 26b, this additional rod-shaped segment is connected to the already wrapped rod-shaped multi-segment article or the assembly of rod-shaped segments. For this purpose, the wrapped assembly of rod-shaped segments and the additional segment are partially wrapped with another wrapping material in the second wrapping unit 26b. This additional wrapping material can, for example, connect the segment assembly to the rod-shaped segment fed into the assembly unit 24b in the manner of a coating paper.

[0060] The second wrapping unit 26b is practically identical in design to the first wrapping unit 26a. It processes, for example, narrower wrapping material and wraps sections of the segment assembly. Downstream of the second wrapping unit 26b is, for example, an inspection unit 28, in which the rod-shaped multi-segment article is inspected. It can then be transferred to further processing.

[0061] The wrapping unit 26 includes a gluing unit 30, which is designed and configured to apply glue to the wrapping material. The gluing unit 30 applies glue to the wrapping material in such a way that a glue-free area is left unglued. The conveying drums 22 and the gluing unit 30 in the wrapping unit 26 are designed and configured such that the area left unglued by the gluing unit 30 and the rod-shaped segments of the segment assembly, as provided by the assembly unit 24, are arranged relative to each other such that a segment transition between two adjacent segments and the glue-free area are positioned relative to each other in such a way that, during the wrapping process, the glue-free area surrounds the segment transition.

[0062] Fig. 2 shows a perspective, schematic view in detail and cross-section of a conveyor drum 31, which is part of a machine 2 as shown in Fig. 1. The simplified and not to-scale representation of the conveyor drum 31 in Fig. 2 is schematic and serves to illustrate the invention.

[0063] The conveyor drum 31 has a drum body 32 which is provided circumferentially with receiving recesses for receiving rod-shaped articles 100. The drum body 32 is driven to rotate about a rotational axis 33 by means of a drive.

[0064] After rod-shaped articles 100 are placed in the receiving troughs, they are conveyed to a wobbling device 40, which displaces them longitudinally within the receiving troughs. The wobbling device 40 has a wobble wheel 42 on each side or end of the receiving troughs of the conveying drum. For clarity, only one side of the wobbling device 40 with a wobble wheel 42 is shown in Fig. 2.

[0065] The wobble wheel 42 is driven by a drive 44 to rotate about a rotary axis 46. The wobble wheel 42 has a smooth article head end contact surface 48 on its outer surface, which is provided with a friction-reducing coating 50. In particular, the friction-reducing coating is designed as a plasma coating and / or as a DLC coating. A preferred DLC coating can be a silicon-doped DLC coating. Due to the fact that the drawing is not to scale, the coating 50 is shown enlarged. Typically, the coating 50 has a layer thickness of 2.0 pm to 5.0 pm.

[0066] When the articles 100 are wobbled by means of the wobble device 40, the rod-shaped articles are moved in a longitudinal axial direction within the receiving recesses by the touching contact of the head ends or the end faces of the articles 100 with the wobble wheel 42.

[0067] The use of the friction-reducing coating 50 for the wobble wheel 42, which is designed as an article end contact body, reduces the contamination of the wobble wheel 42 or the article end contact body, for example, when conveying rod-shaped articles 100 containing liquid. Furthermore, it is also possible to convey rod-shaped articles 100 with susceptor elements, for example, made of metal, whereby the scratch-resistant coating 50 enables a longer service life for the conveying drum 31.

[0068] According to an embodiment not shown here, instead of the friction-reducing coating, the circumferential outer surface of the wobble wheel 42 is designed such that it has a surface energy between 10 mN / m and 50 mN / m, preferably between 20 mN / m and 40 mN / m.

[0069] A cleaning device 60 is arranged on the side of the wobble wheel 42 facing away from the receiving recesses. In this embodiment, the cleaning device 60 has a cleaning fleece 62 which is brought into contact with the outside of the wobble wheel 42 or with the outer coating 50 in order to remove dirt particles from the surface of the coating 50.

[0070] The cleaning device 60 shown in Fig. 2 is exemplary. Within the scope of the invention, it is possible that the cleaning device 60 can also be designed in a different way to clean the surface of the article head end contact surface 48.

[0071] All mentioned features, including those that can be derived from the drawings alone, as well as individual features disclosed in combination with other features, are considered essential to the invention, both individually and in combination. Inventory embodiments can be fulfilled by individual features or a combination of several features. (List of references)

[0072] 2 Machine

[0073] 4 strand machine

[0074] 6T transfer module

[0075] 8, 8a, 8b, 8c Feed module

[0076] 10 Magazine

[0077] 12 Removal / cutting drum 14 Push drum

[0078] 16 Stall drum

[0079] 18 sliding drum

[0080] 20 Feed drum

[0081] 22 Conveyor drum

[0082] 24 assembly unit

[0083] 24a first assembly unit 24b second assembly unit 26 wrapping unit

[0084] 26a First wrapping unit 26b Second wrapping unit 28 Inspection unit

[0085] 30 gluing units

[0086] 31 Conveyor drum

[0087] 32 T drum body

[0088] 33 Rotation axis

[0089] 40 Wobble device

[0090] 42 Wobble wheel

[0091] 44 Drive

[0092] 46 axis of rotation

[0093] 48 Article head end contact surface 50 Coating

[0094] 60 Cleaning device

[0095] 62 cleaning fleece

[0096] 100 items

Claims

Conveyor for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles from the tobacco processing industry Patent claims 1. Conveying element (31), in particular a conveying drum (31), for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles (100) of the tobacco processing industry, in particular article segments or filter segments or assembled groups of article segments or filter segments, wherein the conveying element (31) has receiving recesses for the rod-shaped articles (100), wherein the receiving recesses are arranged transversely one behind the other in the conveying direction, wherein an article head end contact body (42) is provided in or laterally on the receiving recesses for contacting the head ends, in particular end faces or end surfaces, of the articles (100) arranged in the receiving recesses, wherein the article head end contact body (42) has an article head end contact surface (48) facing the head ends, in particular end faces or end surfaces, of the articles (100), in particular flat or even or non-curved or smooth,wherein the article head end contact surface (48) has a surface energy between 10 mN / m to 50 mN / m, preferably between 20 mN / m to 40 mN / m, and / or is formed with a friction-reducing coating (50), in particular a plasma coating.

2. Conveying element (31) according to claim 1, characterized in that the friction-reducing coating (50) has a coefficient of friction (against steel, dry) between 0.03 and 0.30, in particular between 0.07 and 0.20, and / or a hardness between 12 GPa and 30 GPa, in particular between 15 GPa and 25 GPa, or the article head end contact surface (48) without friction-reducing coating has a coefficient of friction (against steel, dry) between 0.03 and 0.30, in particular between 0.07 and 0.20, and / or a hardness between 12 GPa and 30 GPa, in particular between 15 GPa and 25 GPa.

3. Conveying element (31) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the friction-reducing coating (50) is designed as a DLG coating (Diamond-Like Carbon coating), in particular a silicon-doped DLC coating (aC:H:Si coating).

4. Conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the friction-reducing coating (50) has a layer thickness between 1.0 pm and 15.0 pm, in particular between 1.0 pm and 10.0 pm.

5. Conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the article head end contact body (42), in particular at least partially or completely, is made of a plastic, in particular polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) or ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE-UHMW (polyethylene-ultra-high-molecular-weight)), and / or of a metal, in particular steel or stainless steel.

6. Conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the article head end contact body (42) is designed as a stop body, preferably stationary or movable, for the rod-shaped articles (100), wherein in particular the stop body is arranged laterally on at least one side of the receiving recesses or the stop body is arranged in a, in particular circumferential, groove of the receiving recesses for the stop body, in particular between the ends of the receiving recesses.

7. Conveying element (31) according to claim 6, characterized in that the stop body is designed as a longitudinally extended flat body.

8. Conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the article head end contact body (42) is designed as a, preferably co-rotating, stop pin or alignment body, wherein in particular the stop pin or the alignment body is arranged laterally at one end of the receiving recesses.

9. Conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the article head end contact body (42) is designed as a wobble body, preferably rotating or rotating, in particular a wobble disc or wobble ring or wobble wheel, wherein in particular the wobble body is arranged laterally at one end of the receiving recesses.

10. Conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a cleaning device (60) is provided for cleaning the article head end contact surface or for cleaning the friction-reducing coating (50).

11. Conveying device, in particular drum arrangement, for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles (100) of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filters or filter segments or cigarettes, with several conveying devices, in particular conveying drums (31), for the transverse axial conveying of the rod-shaped articles (100), wherein at least one conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 10 is provided.

12. Machine (2) of the tobacco processing industry, in particular a multi-segment filter manufacturing machine or filter assembly machine, with at least one conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 10 or with a conveying device according to claim 11.

13. Method for producing and / or conveying rod-shaped articles (100) of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filters or filter segments or cigarettes, using at least one conveying element (31) according to one of claims 1 to 10 or using a conveying device according to claim 11.

14. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that rod-shaped article groups are produced from several article segments, in particular with more than three or four or five article segments, comprising at least one of the following steps: - Providing several article rods, wherein at least one article rod is designed as an aerosol-forming article rod and / or an article rod containing glycerin and / or propylene glycol, - transverse axial conveying of the article rods, - Cutting the transversely conveyed article bars into, preferably single-length, double-length, or multi-length article segments, - optionally staggering the article rod segments, - moving and / or aligning the article rod segments, preferably using a conveying device according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein in particular the article head end contact surface of the conveying device is cleaned by means of a cleaning device and / or wherein in particular the head ends, in particular the end faces or the end surfaces of the head ends, of the article rod segments containing glycerin and / or propylene glycol are brought into contact with an article head end contact surface of an article head end contact body of the conveying device during moving and / or aligning and interact, - Assembling at least three to nine or more article segments into article segment groups, - Manufacturing smoking product groups with three to five or more than five product segments from the assembled groups of product segments.

15. Use of a friction-reducing coating (50), in particular plasma coating, for a conveying device (31) for the transverse axial conveying of rod-shaped articles (100) of the tobacco processing industry, in particular filters or filter segments or cigarettes, according to one of claims 1 to 10.

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