EP3542649B1 - Conveying device for rod-shaped tobacco articles - Google Patents

Conveying device for rod-shaped tobacco articles Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3542649B1
EP3542649B1 EP19163934.3A EP19163934A EP3542649B1 EP 3542649 B1 EP3542649 B1 EP 3542649B1 EP 19163934 A EP19163934 A EP 19163934A EP 3542649 B1 EP3542649 B1 EP 3542649B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
products
drum
rod
smoking articles
troughs
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
EP19163934.3A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP3542649A3 (en
EP3542649A2 (en
Inventor
Clemens Schmick
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Koerber Technologies GmbH
Original Assignee
Hauni Maschinenbau GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Hauni Maschinenbau GmbH filed Critical Hauni Maschinenbau GmbH
Priority to PL19163934T priority Critical patent/PL3542649T3/en
Publication of EP3542649A2 publication Critical patent/EP3542649A2/en
Publication of EP3542649A3 publication Critical patent/EP3542649A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP3542649B1 publication Critical patent/EP3542649B1/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/47—Attaching filters or mouthpieces to cigars or cigarettes, e.g. inserting filters into cigarettes or their mouthpieces
    • A24C5/478—Transport means for filter- or cigarette-rods in view of their assembling
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/32—Separating, ordering, counting or examining cigarettes; Regulating the feeding of tobacco according to rod or cigarette condition
    • A24C5/34—Examining cigarettes or the rod, e.g. for regulating the feeding of tobacco; Removing defective cigarettes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/32—Separating, ordering, counting or examining cigarettes; Regulating the feeding of tobacco according to rod or cigarette condition
    • A24C5/34—Examining cigarettes or the rod, e.g. for regulating the feeding of tobacco; Removing defective cigarettes
    • A24C5/345—Removing defective cigarettes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
    • A24C—MACHINES FOR MAKING CIGARS OR CIGARETTES
    • A24C5/00—Making cigarettes; Making tipping materials for, or attaching filters or mouthpieces to, cigars or cigarettes
    • A24C5/35—Adaptations of conveying apparatus for transporting cigarettes from making machine to packaging machine

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a conveyor device for rod-shaped smoking articles with the features of the preamble of claim 1.
  • Rod-shaped smoking articles are e.g. cigarettes, cigarillos, heat not burn products (HNB products) or similar products which are intended for inhalation by a consumer.
  • HNB products heat not burn products
  • Rod-shaped smoking articles are also to be understood as preliminary products of smoking articles such as filter rods, tobacco sticks with a tobacco material stabilized in shape by a wrapping strip, segments of HNB products such as tubular cooling sections, taste-influencing segments or the like, which are subsequently combined with other preliminary products to form a finished rod-shaped smoking article get connected.
  • the rod-shaped smoking articles and preliminary products of the smoking articles are referred to below in the description as products for the sake of simplicity.
  • the products are transported in conveyor systems at a very high transport speed and are manufactured and processed in very large quantities. They are fed to various points in the production process from a very large storage unit in a very large volume flow of individual products and, for example, via a drum assembly with several drums that can be driven in rotation, such as a removal drum, an accelerator drum, a staggered drum, a push drum and finally a delivery drum for transferring the products away from the store, wherein the order of the drums mentioned can vary.
  • the drums of the drum assembly are each cylindrical and have a plurality of trough-shaped troughs which are arranged in the lateral surfaces and can be acted upon by negative pressure, which are aligned with their longitudinal axes parallel to the axes of rotation of the drums.
  • the products are stored in the store in a stack with longitudinal axes aligned parallel to one another, the products preferably being aligned so that their end faces each form planes aligned parallel to one another, and the stack thus has a thickness that corresponds to the length of the products in the store corresponds to.
  • a cutting device can be provided on the removal drum with cutting blades directed towards the outer surface of the removal drum and aligned parallel to the direction of rotation of the removal drum, which cut the multiple-length products on the removal drum into single-length products.
  • the troughs of the removal drum have grooves into which the cutting knives plunge and thereby cut through the products over the entire cross section.
  • the cut products of single length are then staggered by the staggered drum and pushed back together in a row via the push drum.
  • the removal drum Starting from the store, the products are received in the troughs of the removal drum and transported away transversely to their longitudinal axes.
  • the removal drum In order to achieve a high transport capacity, the removal drum has a comparatively large diameter with a large number of in the outer surface arranged wells, which are arranged at a very small distance, so in a very small pitch. Furthermore, the removal drum is driven at a comparatively low speed and a low circumferential speed of the troughs in order to achieve a process-reliable transfer of the products from the store.
  • the removal drum has particularly deep troughs, or troughs with a wall enlarged on one side, so that the products can firstly be reliably removed from the store and, secondly, so that an abutment is formed for a clean cut of the products by the cutting device.
  • the supply of the products from the store to the removal drum is effected by gravity in that the store is arranged above the removal drum and has an opening facing the removal drum through which the products exit in the direction of the removal drum. Furthermore, the feeding movement of the products to the removal drum is supported by belts and rollers that determine the direction.
  • Such a conveyor is, for example, from the publication WO 2014/188305 A1 known.
  • One problem with such conveying devices is that the quality of the products when they exit the conveying device and, if they are preliminary products, also the quality of the finished end products made from the preliminary products - depending on the quality of those fed from the store Products is. Furthermore, the quality of the products can also be additionally impaired by a build-up of the products in the store and by collisions of the products when they are discharged from the store.
  • a device for feeding cigarettes to a cigarette machine which already has all the features of the preamble of claim 1.
  • the products are fed to several transfer wheels in guide channels.
  • ejection devices in the form of ejectors are provided on the transfer wheels, which remove damaged products from the hollows of the transfer wheels.
  • the invention is based on the object of providing a conveying device for rod-shaped smoking articles which is intended to have an increased conveying capacity of products corresponding to the quality specifications.
  • the solution according to the invention is initially based on the ejection device being provided between the store and the drum assembly on the guide channel in which the products are guided in a single-row strip.
  • the single-row guidance of the products in the guide channel in a single layer creates the possibility of checking the products individually for compliance with predetermined setpoints of various parameters such as length, diameter, position, head quality, before they are fed to the drum assembly.
  • a sensor device is provided which is specially designed, set up and arranged for checking the parameters to be observed.
  • an ejection device downstream of the sensor device provided, which is controlled as a function of the signal from the sensor device.
  • the signal from the sensor device is in turn dependent on whether or not predetermined limit values are exceeded by the measured values of the parameters of the products to be detected.
  • the ejection device is only controlled or activated when a product that does not correspond to the predetermined parameters, that is to say a product of inferior quality, is detected.
  • the probability can be reduced that products with burst longitudinal seams or other serious defects, which can result in an emergency stop in the drum assembly, get into the drum assembly.
  • the The probability of failure of the entire conveyor device can be significantly reduced by the defective products being discharged in the transport direction upstream to the drum assembly, that is, before they enter the drum assembly.
  • the sensor device and the ejection device are arranged so that they are passed by the products on the way from the store to the drum assembly during the transport movement.
  • the term “between” is therefore not to be understood as a restrictive geometric arrangement.
  • a rolling device which rotates the rod-shaped smoking articles located in a detection area of the sensor device about their longitudinal axes.
  • the smoking articles currently in the detection area of the sensor device that is to say the smoking articles that are currently being detected by the sensor device, can be deliberately rotated about their longitudinal axes during the measurement, so that the parameters such as. E.g. the surface properties, roundness, seam course and the closure of the seam can be fully detected.
  • the ejection device can preferably be formed by a pneumatic blow-out device which blows the defective products out of the strip of products in the guide channel.
  • a pneumatic blow-out device which blows the defective products out of the strip of products in the guide channel.
  • the ejection device can also be formed by a troughed drum which has receptacles that can be acted upon by negative or overpressure, the underpressure or overpressure in the receptacles preferably being controllable.
  • the products are first received in the receptacles of the troughed drum, it being possible to support the receiving of the products in the receptacles, for example, by an applied negative pressure in the receptacles.
  • the products are then ejected by transporting the defective products from the product transport chain to an ejection point.
  • the receptacles in which defective products are held are subjected to negative pressure beyond the first point, so that the products are transported on to the ejection point.
  • the defective products are then ejected at the ejection point either by simply switching off the negative pressure passively and / or additionally by applying overpressure to the receptacles, so that the products are actively ejected from the receptacles.
  • control of the negative pressure or overpressure in the receptacles is preferably designed such that the underpressure or overpressure in the various receptacles can be controlled independently of one another, ie the underpressure or overpressure in a receptacle can be independent of the underpressure or overpressure can be controlled in the two adjacent recordings.
  • the created guide channel can additionally be used for the arrangement of a cutting device arranged between the ejection device and the drum assembly for cutting the products.
  • depressions of normal depth can be provided for the first drum of the drum assembly and all other drums of the drum assembly, since a cutting process does not have to be carried out on any of these drums, so that the depressions provided on the drums subsequently do not have to form an abutment to implement the cutting process .
  • This makes it possible to avoid an essential problem of the drum running that had to be solved so far, namely the transfer of the products from deeper troughs of the drum with the cutting device into troughs of a receiving drum with a normal depth.
  • the drum run can be simplified because the products are cut before the products enter the drum run, so that the jumps in speed caused by the cutting in the drum assembly known from the prior art can also be avoided or reduced in number .
  • a plurality of stores are provided, each with a guide channel, from which the rod-shaped smoking articles are fed to the drum assembly.
  • the proposed single-layer guidance of the products in the guide channels has the advantage that the quality of the products can be detected before they enter the drum assembly, but the solution is disadvantageous because the mass flow of the products that is fed to the drum assembly is due to the limited feed speed of the products in the guide channel is limited.
  • This disadvantage can be compensated for by adding several storage units with assigned guide channels are provided, from which the products are fed to the drum assembly in a parallel guide. As a result, the mass flow of the products which is fed to the drum assembly can be multiplied in accordance with the number of stores and guide channels.
  • the rod-shaped smoking articles are fed from the guide channels into the troughs of the first drum of the drum assembly, preferably in a fixed, predetermined rhythm, so that the store is emptied according to a predetermined feed characteristic and the troughs of the first drum in a known distribution with the products of the various stores be filled.
  • the fixed, predetermined rhythm can preferably be designed in such a way that the products are supplied with identical flow rates from the various storage units and are taken over in a uniform distribution in the troughs of the first drum.
  • the supply of the products from the various stores can be further improved by providing a control device which controls the supply of the rod-shaped smoking articles from the various supply channels into the troughs of the first drum.
  • the control device can for example be designed in such a way that it controls the delivery of the products from the different guide channels into the troughs in a coupling so that the products are introduced one after the other into the adjacent troughs of the first drum, the time offset preferably being due to the rotational movement of the first drum Drum is adapted, whereby the delivery of the products from the various guide channels can be synchronized with the rotary movement of the first drum.
  • the troughs of the first drum can preferably be subdivided into different groups assigned to the feed channels.
  • the troughs can be subdivided according to the supply of the products from the stores, both in the geometric arrangement and in the adaptation of the proportions of the number of troughs to the size relationships of the stores.
  • the number of troughs in the different groups can be identical, provided that the product flows from the storage units are also identical.
  • the proposed further development allows the products of the various guide channels to be introduced into the troughs of the first drum at the same time.
  • the troughs of the different groups can preferably each be arranged alternately one behind the other.
  • the products are introduced into the troughs via the various guide channels in different angular sections of the circumference of the first drum, or in other words, the guide channels are passed by the troughs one after the other as they rotate. Due to the troughs of the various groups arranged alternately one after the other over the circumference of the first drum, the products can be dispensed from the guide channels into the adjacent troughs one after the other as the first drum rotates, whereby the point of delivery of the products from a guide channel always corresponds to the filling position of the troughs corresponds to the group assigned to this.
  • the troughs of a group can be filled very easily by the control device supplying the Rod-shaped smoking article controls from the respective guide channels into the troughs of the assigned groups.
  • a conveyor device with a store 2 with a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles 1 arranged therein can be seen, which are stored in the store 2 in a stack with longitudinal axes aligned parallel to one another.
  • the rod-shaped smoking articles 1 are aligned in such a way that their end faces complement each other to form planes aligned parallel to one another and the stack thus has a thickness corresponding to the length of the smoking articles 1.
  • the rod-shaped smoking articles 1 are hereinafter referred to as products 15 for the sake of simplicity.
  • the products 15 pass through a shaft with laterally arranged side walls 3 that can be excited to vibrate into a guide channel 11, which is dimensioned such that the products 15 therein with longitudinal axes arranged parallel to one another, in a single-layer strip with a width corresponding to the length of the products 15 be guided. Due to the force of gravity, the products 15 slide out of the store 2 into the guide channel 11, the vibrations of the side walls 3 supporting this movement and preventing the products 15 from jamming or wedging against one another.
  • a sensor device 5 and a roller device 4 are provided in an opposing arrangement on the guide channel 11.
  • the rolling device 4 comprises a plurality of individual rollers that can be driven into a rotary movement and is arranged in such a way that, when activated, it rotates the products 15 located in the detection area of the sensor device 5 about their longitudinal axes.
  • the products 15 can thus be scanned by the sensor device 5 over their entire circumferential surface.
  • the sensor device 5 is designed in such a way that it detects various parameters, such as the length, the roundness, the surface quality or also a seam course or the closed state of a seam of the products 15. If this is desired, the determined data of the products 15 can be recorded in a memory for a later evaluation or a control of the quality.
  • the determined data can each be assigned to a single product 15, and the determined data cannot be falsified due to the single-layer guidance, in particular by inadvertent scanning of products 15 below or above it .
  • an ejection device 6 and a spring-loaded flap 7 are provided downstream of the sensor device 5, that is to say here below the sensor device 5.
  • the ejection device 6 is activated when a value of a parameter of a product 15 has been determined by the sensor device 5, which value lies outside a predetermined tolerance band to a target value of the parameter, whereby a defective product 15 can be inferred.
  • the ejector 6 is here by one in the Figure 2 in an enlarged view to be recognized pneumatic Blow-out device 16 is formed which, when activated, emits a jet of compressed air in the direction of the strip of products 15.
  • the blow-out device 16 is positioned and controlled in such a way that the emitted compressed air jet, taking into account the distance covered by the product 15 from the sensor device 5 to the blow-out device 16, hits the product 15 detected as defective by the sensor device 5 and thereby ejects the defective product 15.
  • the flap 7 can be realized by a spring-loaded plate or also only by two spring arms 20 and forms a guide for the products 15 over an opening 17 opposite the blow-out device 16. If the blow-out device 16 is activated, the emitted blast of compressed air causes the defective product 15 to be forced against the flap 7 or the spring arms 20.
  • the flap 7 or the spring arms 20 are pivoted outward, overcoming the spring force, so that the opening 17 is released and the defective product 15 is ejected from the opening 17 and discharged as an ejection 8 via ramps 21 into a collecting container.
  • the gap formed by the ejection of the defective product 15 in the strip of the products 15 in the guide channel 11 is automatically closed again by the products 15 sliding down.
  • FIG. 3 an alternative embodiment of the ejection device 6 can be seen in which the ejection of the defective products 15 is realized via a troughed drum 31 which has several receptacles 32 which can be subjected to negative or positive pressure.
  • the troughed drum 31 is either passively driven by the transport pressure of the products 15 or actively driven to rotate by a drive device (not shown).
  • the products 15 are removed from the guide channel 11 from above fed and further deflected over a first edge 35 of the guide channel 11 in the direction of the trough drum 31 or the receptacles 32.
  • a product 15 in each case enters a receptacle 32 and is transported onward via the rotating trough drum 31.
  • the receptacle 32 in which the product 15 is held is subjected to negative pressure and the defective product held therein Product 15 is carried out of the guide channel 11 via a second edge 34 from the transport chain and discharged in a plane 33 as an ejection 8, whereby the negative pressure in the respective receptacle 32 can either be switched off or replaced by a slight overpressure for discharging.
  • a cutting device 17 is provided in relation to the transport direction of the products 15 downstream of the ejection device 6, which in the Figures 6 to 9 is shown enlarged in two different embodiments.
  • the cutting device 17 comprises two cutting knives 43, which are oriented in a stationary manner with their cutting edges parallel to the transport direction of the products 15 and thus perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the products 15. Furthermore, the cutting knives 43 are arranged in such a way that they protrude into the transport path of the products 15 at a predetermined position, so that the products 15 guided past them in the guide channel 11 are automatically cut during the transport movement.
  • the cutting blades 43 can according to the in FIGS Figures 1 , 6th , 7th and 8th Embodiments shown as a circular knife or according to the Embodiment of the Figure 9 can also be designed as a knife with a straight cutting edge.
  • the cutting device 17 comprises one or two flexible bands 41 and 44 which are each stretched around two rollers and are aligned with a guide section parallel to the guide channel 11 and protrude laterally into the guide channel 11.
  • the products 15 located in the guide channel 11 come laterally frictionally into contact with the belts 41 and 44 during the cutting process, the products 15 being additionally urged against the belts 41 opposite the cutting knives 43 by the cutting process.
  • the products 15 are then rotated about their longitudinal axes during the cutting process by the frictional contact with the belts 41 and 44. It is thus sufficient if the cutting knives 43 cut the products 15 only up to half the diameter or slightly beyond it, while the products 15 rotate about their longitudinal axes.
  • the products 15 practically perform a relative rotational movement to the cutting knives 43 and are thereby cut over the circumference, similar to the "pipe cutting principle".
  • the products 15 are ideally rotated by at least one complete revolution around their longitudinal axes, and the cutting knives 43 protrude at least so far into the guide channel 11 that the products are cut to at least half their diameter. A complete cut of the products 15 thus automatically results in a complete revolution.
  • the belts 41 and 44 can also be actively driven.
  • the belt 41 can be driven as desired, provided that the guide section of the belt 41 protruding into the guide channel 11 is only moved at a speed different from the transport speed of the products 15. This relative speed between the products 15 and the belt 41 is sufficient to drive the products 15 to rotate about their longitudinal axes.
  • the belts 41 and 44 in the sections which protrude into the guide channel 11, move at different speeds and / or in different directions.
  • the straps 41 and 44 can be made of a flexible material, such as a fabric or an elastomer, so that they can give way to the side and only exert limited pressure forces on the products 15. This can prevent the products 15 from being damaged by the pressing forces exerted by the belts 41 and 44.
  • the belts 41 and 44 can additionally be elastic in themselves, so that they can be tensioned around the rollers with the exertion of a pretensioning, whereby the drive of the belts 41 and 44 via the rollers can be simplified.
  • the belts 41 and 44 can have a surface quality and surface structure that supports or influences the rotary movement and the transport of the products, such as, for example, a profile with cams and depressions.
  • the special Surface texture can be realized by a friction-increasing as well as a friction-reducing surface in order to bring about the rolling effect, in that the products 15 are deliberately carried along or braked on one side by a friction-increasing surface and on the opposite belt 41 or 44 by a friction-reducing surface provided thereon can turn more easily.
  • the belts 41 and 44 can therefore deliberately have a different surface structure and / or surface quality, so that the products 15 adhere to one of the belts 41 or 44 or consciously roll off, while they can consciously execute a relative movement with respect to the respective other belt 41 or 44 .
  • the cut products 15 are fed to a first drum 13 of a drum run or drum assembly, and are removed from this in a rotary movement transversely to their longitudinal axes via troughs 14 that can be subjected to negative pressure.
  • the conveying device has two further guide channels 11, from which further products 15 are supplied from additional stores 2 in the same way and introduced into the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 via a control device 12.
  • the first drum 13 can also be referred to as a removal drum, which does not remove the products 15 directly from the storage 2, but instead from the guide channels 11 provided in between.
  • the first drum 13 with the three guide channels 11 and the products 15 fed therefrom with two different embodiments of the control device 12 can be seen in an enlarged illustration.
  • the control device 12 is formed by insert wheels 81 assigned to the guide channels 11 in each case.
  • the insertion wheels 81 themselves can be designed to be rotatably driven and serve to separate the products 15 before they are inserted into the troughs 14 of the first drum 13. This simplifies the insertion of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 and, in particular, controls it. If the loading wheels 81 are actively driven, it is also possible to control the loading of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 both in terms of the times, in the sequence and in the time intervals with respect to one another.
  • the filling of the troughs 14 can be changed to such an extent that the products 15 are no longer supplied from one of the guide channels 11 and instead only from the remaining guide channels 11 but in increased flow rates .
  • the operation of the conveying device can be maintained to such an extent that the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 are nevertheless completely filled with products 15.
  • control device 12 is formed by a multi-joint mechanism 70 with a linkage 72 driven by an eccentric 73 and insertion punches 71 assigned to each of the various guide channels 11.
  • the feeding of the products 15 from the guide channels 11 into the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 is controlled here by opening the openings facing the first drum 13
  • Guide channels 11 are closed by the movement of the insertion die 71 in one position and open in another position.
  • the rhythmic movement of the insertion punches 71 is triggered by the rotary movement of the eccentric 73 and is transmitted or controlled via the linkage 72.
  • the opening of the guide channels 11 and thus the supply of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 are also coupled to one another, whereby due to the design of the linkage 72 and the thereby forced opening and closing movement of the insertion stamp 71, the sequence, the time offset and also the time window of the openings of the guide channels 11 can be controlled.
  • the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 are divided into three groups I, II and III, which are each arranged alternately in a fixed rhythm.
  • the troughs 14 of groups I, II and III are provided for filling with products 15 from a permanently assigned guide channel 11 each.
  • the troughs 14 of group III are filled with products 15 from the guide channel 11 on the left in the illustration in FIG.
  • the troughs 14 of group II from the central guide channel 11 and finally the troughs 14 of group I from the guide channel 11 on the right in the illustration are filled with products 15.
  • the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 are thus filled by the control device 12 according to a fixed rhythm, whereby a collision of the products 15 when they are placed in the troughs 14 can be prevented. Furthermore, the controlled, rhythmic filling of the troughs 14 can prevent the troughs 14 from not being filled with products 15 and from continuing to run empty. Provided the conveying capacity is to be increased further, the number of troughs 14 can be increased and further storage 2 with associated guide channels 11 can be provided.
  • the troughs 14 of groups I, II and III are arranged alternately in a fixed rhythm, ie in one according to the direction of the arrow in FIG Figure 4 clockwise rotating drum 13 follows a trough 14 of group III is always followed by a trough 14 of group II and this is always followed by a trough 14 of group I until the rhythm is repeated with a trough 14 of group III.
  • the first drum 13 has an identical number of troughs 14 of the respective groups I, II and III. Furthermore, the feed speed of the mass flows of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 is identical, the mass flows of the products 15 corresponding to the number of troughs 14 of groups I, II or III per revolution of the first drum 13.
  • the cutting device 17 can be seen enlarged in various embodiments.
  • the cutting device 17 comprises two cutting knives 43, which are in the Figures 6 to 8 as a circular knife and in the Figure 9 are designed as cutting blades 43 with linear cutting edges.
  • the belts 41 and 44 each protrude into the guide channel 11 with a guide section aligned parallel to the transport direction of the products 15 and thereby form lateral contact surfaces for the products 15 guided in the guide channel 11.
  • the cutting blades 43 also protrude with their cutting edges into the guide channels 11 and 11 although in an orientation parallel to the transport direction of the products 15 or perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the products 15.
  • the cutting knives 43 protrude so far into the guide channel 11 so that they extend to at least half the diameter of the products 15 located therein.
  • two cutting knives 43 in the form of rotating or stationary circular knives and a band 41 arranged opposite the cutting knives 43 are provided.
  • the circular knives can be rotatably mounted, or they can also be actively driven to make a rotary movement via a drive device. In both cases, the cutting movement takes place by a rolling movement of the cutting knives 43 in relation to the products 15 with a very low load on the products 15 during the cutting process.
  • the band 41 is formed by a flexible fabric band or also by an inherently elastic elastomer band and can thus give slightly laterally so that it can adapt to the contour of the products 15.
  • the belt 41 is stretched around two rollers and can be driven to form an endless drive by an undetectable drive device. Furthermore, the belt 41 has a surface quality that increases friction, so that it has a higher coefficient of friction than the remaining inner walls of the guide channel 11.
  • the products 15 come to rest laterally on the belt 41 and are thereby braked in the event that the belt 41 is not driven.
  • the products can also be braked even more strongly in the case of a drive direction opposite to the transport direction of the products 15 or can also be accelerated in the case of a drive movement in the direction of the transport direction.
  • the definition of the movement of the belt 41 always relates to the guide section protruding into the guide channel 11. It is important for the cutting movement that the band 41 can move relative to one another carries out the transport movement of the supplied products 15, so that the products 15 are driven to a rotary movement about their longitudinal axes and thereby roll against the rotating or stationary cutting knives 43 and are completely cut over their circumference.
  • the direction of rotation of the cutting knives 43 can deliberately be directed against the relative rotary movement of the products 15 forced by the belt 41, whereby the cutting speed can be increased further.
  • the length of the guide section of the belt 41 protruding into the guide channel 11 and the relative speed of the guide section are selected so that the products 15 rotate at least once about their longitudinal axis while passing the cutting knives 43, i.e. are driven to one full revolution with respect to the cutting knives 43.
  • the products 15 are produced in a very high quality cutting process with a product 15 that rolls over the cutting edges of the cutting knives 43, the particular advantage of the cutting process, in addition to the rolling process, being that the cutting edge is always just over half the cross-section penetrates the product 15.
  • the product 15 is thus significantly less stressed during the cutting process than in the case of a cut with a cutting edge that cuts over the entire cross-section, as is the case with conventional cutting processes with products 15 that do not rotate about their longitudinal axes.
  • the belt 41 is designed in such a way that it is arranged with the guide section protruding into the guide channel 11 at a defined distance from the cutting edges of the cutting knives 43, so that the products 15 rotating on it are pushed against the cutting edges and in the belt during the cutting process 41 find an abutment.
  • the solution according to the invention also offers the advantage that the products can evade due to the flexibility of the band 41 and the cutting forces can be reduced as a result.
  • a cutting device 17 can be seen in which, in addition to the belts 41 opposite the cutting knives 43, further belts 44 are also provided on the side of the cutting knives 43, which are aligned in the same way with a guide section each parallel to the transport direction and with it Guide section protrude into the guide channel 11.
  • the products 15 are thus guided laterally in the region of the cutting device 17 exclusively over the belts 41 and 44 and driven off to the rotary movement.
  • the bands 41 and 44 each comprise a plurality of individual, spaced-apart strands and thus lie against the products 15 in the form of strips.
  • the cutting knives 43 can protrude between the belts 44 into the guide channel 11 and the products 15 are guided through the belts 41 and 44 on both sides of the cutting edges of the cutting knives 43.
  • the strip-shaped guide guides the products 15 over a smaller surface area and thus, overall, over a lower contact pressure.
  • the shorter products 15 with a single length are guided in an improved manner after cutting.
  • the two cutting knives 43 are arranged at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction of the products 15, that is, transversely to the transport direction of the products 15, so that the products 15 are cut into three individual products 15 with a correspondingly shorter length.
  • the length of the cut products 15 can can be defined by the distance between the cutting knives 43 and the distance between the cutting knives 43 and the end faces of the supplied products 15 in the longitudinal direction of the products 15.
  • the cutting process, the resulting cutting quality and finally the dimensional accuracy of the cut products 15 in terms of their length can be further improved by a fine tumbling of the products 15 on their end faces before the cutting process, through which the products 15 with regard to a target position to be maintained during the cutting process within very tight tolerances can be aligned.

Landscapes

  • Manufacturing Of Cigar And Cigarette Tobacco (AREA)
  • Feeding Of Articles To Conveyors (AREA)

Description

Die vorliegende Erfindung betrifft eine Fördereinrichtung für stabförmige Rauchartikel mit den Merkmalen des Oberbegriffs von Anspruch 1.The present invention relates to a conveyor device for rod-shaped smoking articles with the features of the preamble of claim 1.

Stabförmige Rauchartikel sind z.B. Zigaretten, Zigarillos, Heat Not Burn-Produkte (HNB-Produkte) oder ähnliche Produkte, welche zur Inhalation durch einen Konsumenten vorgesehen sind. Dabei können trotz des Begriffs nicht nur Rauch, sondern stattdessen oder zusätzlich auch ätherische oder medizinische Substanzen zur Inhalation vorgesehen sein. Als stabförmige Rauchartikel sind dabei auch Vorprodukte von Rauchartikeln zu verstehen wie z.B. Filterstäbe, Tabakstöcke mit einem durch einen Umhüllungsstreifen formstabilisierten Tabakmaterial, Segmente von HNB-Produkte, wie rohrförmige Kühlabschnitte, geschmacksbeeinflussende Segmente oder dergleichen anzusehen, welche nachfolgend mit anderen Vorprodukten zu einem fertigen stabförmigen Rauchartikel verbunden werden.Rod-shaped smoking articles are e.g. cigarettes, cigarillos, heat not burn products (HNB products) or similar products which are intended for inhalation by a consumer. In spite of the term, not only smoke, but instead or in addition also ethereal or medicinal substances can be provided for inhalation. Rod-shaped smoking articles are also to be understood as preliminary products of smoking articles such as filter rods, tobacco sticks with a tobacco material stabilized in shape by a wrapping strip, segments of HNB products such as tubular cooling sections, taste-influencing segments or the like, which are subsequently combined with other preliminary products to form a finished rod-shaped smoking article get connected.

Die stabförmigen Rauchartikel und Vorprodukte der Rauchartikel werden nachfolgend in der Beschreibung zur Vereinfachung als Produkte bezeichnet.The rod-shaped smoking articles and preliminary products of the smoking articles are referred to below in the description as products for the sake of simplicity.

Die Produkte werden in Fördereinrichtungen mit einer sehr großen Transportgeschwindigkeit transportiert und in sehr großen Mengen hergestellt und weiterverarbeitet. Dabei werden sie in verschiedenen Stellen des Produktionsablaufes aus einem sehr großen Speicher in einem sehr großen Mengenstrom aus einzelnen Produkten zugeführt und z.B. über eine Trommelbaugruppe mit mehreren rotatorisch antreibbaren Trommeln, wie einer Entnahmetrommel, einer Beschleunigertrommel, einer Staffeltrommel, einer Schiebetrommel und schließlich einer Abgabetrommel zur Weitergabe der Produkte aus dem Speicher abtransportiert, wobei die Reihenfolge der genannten Trommeln variieren kann. Die Trommeln der Trommelbaugruppe sind jeweils zylindrisch ausgebildet und weisen eine Vielzahl von in den Mantelflächen angeordneten, mit Unterdruck beaufschlagbaren, rinnenförmigen Mulden auf, welche mit ihren Längsachsen parallel zu den Drehachsen der Trommeln ausgerichtet sind. Die Produkte sind in dem Speicher in einem Stapel mit parallel zueinander ausgerichteten Längsachsen bevorratet, wobei die Produkte bevorzugt so ausgerichtet sind, dass ihre Stirnseiten jeweils parallel zueinander ausgerichtete Ebenen bilden, und der Stapel somit eine Dicke aufweist, welche der Länge der Produkte in dem Speicher entspricht. Sofern die Produkte selbst in dem Speicher in einer Mehrfachlänge bevorratet sind, kann an der Entnahmetrommel eine Schneideinrichtung mit auf die Mantelfläche der Entnahmetrommel gerichteten und parallel zu der Drehrichtung der Entnahmetrommel ausgerichteten Schneidmessern vorgesehen sein, welche die mehrfachlangen Produkte auf der Entnahmetrommel in einfachlange Produkte schneiden. Die Mulden der Entnahmetrommel weisen zur Verwirklichung der Schnittbewegung Nuten auf, in welche die Schneidmesser eintauchen und dabei die Produkte über den gesamten Querschnitt durchtrennen. Die geschnittenen Produkte einfacher Länge werden dann anschließend von der Staffeltrommel gestaffelt und über die Schiebetrommel wieder in eine Reihe zusammengeschoben.The products are transported in conveyor systems at a very high transport speed and are manufactured and processed in very large quantities. They are fed to various points in the production process from a very large storage unit in a very large volume flow of individual products and, for example, via a drum assembly with several drums that can be driven in rotation, such as a removal drum, an accelerator drum, a staggered drum, a push drum and finally a delivery drum for transferring the products away from the store, wherein the order of the drums mentioned can vary. The drums of the drum assembly are each cylindrical and have a plurality of trough-shaped troughs which are arranged in the lateral surfaces and can be acted upon by negative pressure, which are aligned with their longitudinal axes parallel to the axes of rotation of the drums. The products are stored in the store in a stack with longitudinal axes aligned parallel to one another, the products preferably being aligned so that their end faces each form planes aligned parallel to one another, and the stack thus has a thickness that corresponds to the length of the products in the store corresponds to. If the products themselves are stored in the store in multiple lengths, a cutting device can be provided on the removal drum with cutting blades directed towards the outer surface of the removal drum and aligned parallel to the direction of rotation of the removal drum, which cut the multiple-length products on the removal drum into single-length products. To realize the cutting movement, the troughs of the removal drum have grooves into which the cutting knives plunge and thereby cut through the products over the entire cross section. The cut products of single length are then staggered by the staggered drum and pushed back together in a row via the push drum.

Die Produkte werden ausgehend von dem Speicher in den Mulden der Entnahmetrommel aufgenommen und quer zu ihren Längsachsen abtransportiert. Die Entnahmetrommel weist zur Verwirklichung einer hohen Transportkapazität einen vergleichsweisen großen Durchmesser mit einer Vielzahl von in der Mantelfläche angeordneten Mulden auf, welche in einem sehr geringen Abstand, also in einer sehr kleinen Teilung angeordnet sind. Ferner wird die Entnahmetrommel zur Verwirklichung einer prozesssicheren Übernahme der Produkte aus dem Speicher zu einer vergleichsweise kleinen Drehzahl und einer kleinen Umfangsgeschwindigkeit der Mulden angetrieben. Außerdem weist die Entnahmetrommel besonders tiefe Mulden, bzw. Mulden mit einer einseitig vergrößerten Wandung auf, damit die Produkte erstens prozesssicher aus dem Speicher entnommen werden können und zweitens, damit ein Widerlager für einen sauberen Schnitt der Produkte durch die Schneideinrichtung gebildet ist.Starting from the store, the products are received in the troughs of the removal drum and transported away transversely to their longitudinal axes. In order to achieve a high transport capacity, the removal drum has a comparatively large diameter with a large number of in the outer surface arranged wells, which are arranged at a very small distance, so in a very small pitch. Furthermore, the removal drum is driven at a comparatively low speed and a low circumferential speed of the troughs in order to achieve a process-reliable transfer of the products from the store. In addition, the removal drum has particularly deep troughs, or troughs with a wall enlarged on one side, so that the products can firstly be reliably removed from the store and, secondly, so that an abutment is formed for a clean cut of the products by the cutting device.

Da die Anzahl der Produkte durch den Schnittvorgang an der Entnahmetrommel gegenüber der Anzahl der aus dem Speicher entnommenen Produkte überdies sprungartig vervielfacht wird, und die in Transportrichtung auf die Entnahmetrommel folgenden Trommeln einen größeren Teilungsabstand der Mulden und eine erheblich größere Umfangsgeschwindigkeit der Mulden als die Mulden der Entnahmetrommel aufweisen, werden die Produkte bei der Übergabe erheblich beschleunigt, wodurch eine prozesssichere Übergabe der Produkte aus den tieferen Mulden der Entnahmetrommel in die flacheren schneller drehenden Mulden der übernehmenden Trommel zusätzlich erschwert wird.Since the number of products by the cutting process on the removal drum is also multiplied by leaps and bounds compared to the number of products removed from the store, and the drums following the removal drum in the transport direction have a larger pitch between the troughs and a considerably greater circumferential speed of the troughs than the troughs Have removal drum, the products are significantly accelerated during the transfer, which makes a process-reliable transfer of the products from the deeper troughs of the removal drum into the shallower, faster rotating troughs of the receiving drum is made more difficult.

Die kleine Teilung, in Verbindung mit der vergrößerten Tiefe der Mulden der Entnahmetrommel und dem Geschwindigkeitssprung bei der Übergabe der Produkte an die nächste Trommel haben wiederum eine Kollisionsproblematik mit den Mulden der nachfolgenden Trommel zur Folge, so dass die Drehbewegungen der Entnahmetrommel und der nachfolgenden übernehmenden Trommel sehr präzise aufeinander abgestimmt werden müssen. Weiterhin können statische Führungen zur Übergabe der Produkte, insbesondere zum Auskämmen der Produkte aus den Mulden, erforderlich sein.The small pitch, in connection with the increased depth of the troughs of the removal drum and the jump in speed when transferring the products to the next drum, in turn result in a collision problem with the troughs of the following drum, so that the rotary movements of the removal drum and the subsequent receiving drum must be coordinated very precisely. Furthermore you can Static guides for transferring the products, in particular for combing the products out of the troughs, may be required.

Die Zuführung der Produkte aus dem Speicher zu der Entnahmetrommel wird dabei durch die Schwerkraft bewirkt, indem der Speicher oberhalb der Entnahmetrommel angeordnet ist und eine der Entnahmetrommel zugewandte Öffnung aufweist, durch welche die Produkte in Richtung der Entnahmetrommel austreten. Ferner wird die Zuführbewegung der Produkte zu der Entnahmetrommel über die Richtung vorgebende Bänder und Rollen unterstützt.The supply of the products from the store to the removal drum is effected by gravity in that the store is arranged above the removal drum and has an opening facing the removal drum through which the products exit in the direction of the removal drum. Furthermore, the feeding movement of the products to the removal drum is supported by belts and rollers that determine the direction.

Eine solche Fördereinrichtung ist z.B. aus der Druckschrift WO 2014/188305 A1 bekannt.Such a conveyor is, for example, from the publication WO 2014/188305 A1 known.

Weitere Fördereinrichtungen sind aus den Druckschriften EP 2 486 810 A1 , EP 0 100 537 A2 , DE 40 33 644 C1 , DE 34 42 462 C1 und US 4,962,629 bekannt.Further funding facilities are from the publications EP 2 486 810 A1 , EP 0 100 537 A2 , DE 40 33 644 C1 , DE 34 42 462 C1 and U.S. 4,962,629 known.

Ein Problem derartiger Fördereinrichtungen ist es, dass die Qualität der Produkte beim Austritt aus der Fördereinrichtung und für den Fall, wenn es sich um Vorprodukte handelt, auch die Qualität der fertigen, aus den Vorprodukten gefertigten Endprodukte - abhängig von der Qualität der aus dem Speicher zugeführten Produkte ist. Ferner kann die Qualität der Produkte auch durch ein Aufstauen der Produkte in dem Speicher und durch Kollisionen der Produkte bei dem Ausführen aus dem Speicher zusätzlich beeinträchtigt werden.One problem with such conveying devices is that the quality of the products when they exit the conveying device and, if they are preliminary products, also the quality of the finished end products made from the preliminary products - depending on the quality of those fed from the store Products is. Furthermore, the quality of the products can also be additionally impaired by a build-up of the products in the store and by collisions of the products when they are discharged from the store.

Eine Prüfung der Produkte hinsichtlich der einzuhaltenden Qualitätskriterien ist während des beschriebenen Transportprozesses insoweit schwierig, da ein Auswurf eines schadhaften Produktes aus einer der Mulden einer Trommel zwangsläufig eine anschließend nichtbesetzte Mulde zur Folge hätte. Eine nichtbesetzte Mulde hätte wiederum ein schadhaftes Endprodukt zur Folge, da in diesem Fall aufgrund der nichtbesetzten Mulde eines der Endprodukte nicht mit dem jeweiligen Vorprodukt bestückt wäre. Eine Wiederbefüllung der nichtbesetzten Mulde wäre nur durch einen erheblichen Mehraufwand möglich und scheidet daher aus wirtschaftlichen Gründen aus. Aus diesem Grunde findet bei derartigen Fördereinrichtungen eine Qualitätskontrolle erst bei den fertigen Endprodukten statt, man nimmt praktisch in Kauf, dass schadhafte Endprodukte hergestellt werden können, welche dann anschließend nach einer Qualitätsprüfung aussortiert werden müssen. Durch das Aussortieren wird die Förderkapazität der Fördereinrichtung an nicht schadhaften Produkten reduziert.An examination of the products with regard to the quality criteria to be complied with is difficult during the described transport process, since an ejection of a defective product from one of the troughs of a drum inevitably follows unoccupied hollow would result. An unoccupied trough would in turn result in a defective end product, since in this case one of the end products would not be equipped with the respective preliminary product due to the unoccupied trough. Refilling the unoccupied trough would only be possible with considerable additional effort and is therefore ruled out for economic reasons. For this reason, quality control does not take place until the finished end products in such conveying devices; it is practically accepted that defective end products can be produced, which then have to be sorted out after a quality check. By sorting out the conveying capacity of the conveying device for non-defective products is reduced.

Ferner ist aus der DE 196 46 696 C1 eine Vorrichtung zum Zuführen von Zigaretten zu einer Zigarettenmaschine bekannt, welche bereits sämtliche Merkmale des Oberbegriffs von Anspruch 1 aufweist. In dieser Vorrichtung werden die Produkte in Führungskanälen mehreren Überführungsrädern zugeführt. Ferner sind an den Überführungsrädern Auswurfeinrichtungen in Form von Auswerfern vorgesehen, welche schadhafte Produkte aus den Mulden der Überführungsräder entfernen.Furthermore, from the DE 196 46 696 C1 a device for feeding cigarettes to a cigarette machine is known which already has all the features of the preamble of claim 1. In this device, the products are fed to several transfer wheels in guide channels. Furthermore, ejection devices in the form of ejectors are provided on the transfer wheels, which remove damaged products from the hollows of the transfer wheels.

Nachteilig bei dieser Lösung ist, dass durch den Auswurf der Produkte ebenfalls die Förderkapazität reduziert wird, indem anschließend eine unbesetzte Mulde umläuft.The disadvantage of this solution is that the ejection of the products also reduces the conveying capacity by subsequently rotating an unoccupied trough.

Vor diesem Hintergrund liegt der Erfindung die Aufgabe zugrunde, eine Fördereinrichtung für stabförmige Rauchartikel bereitzustellen, welche eine erhöhte Förderkapazität von den Qualitätsvorgaben entsprechenden Produkten aufweisen soll.Against this background, the invention is based on the object of providing a conveying device for rod-shaped smoking articles which is intended to have an increased conveying capacity of products corresponding to the quality specifications.

Zur Lösung der Aufgabe wird erfindungsgemäß eine Fördereinrichtung mit den Merkmalen von Anspruch 1 vorgeschlagen. Weitere bevorzugte Weiterentwicklungen der Erfindung sind den Unteransprüchen, den Figuren und der zugehörigen Beschreibung zu entnehmen.To achieve the object, a conveyor device having the features of claim 1 is proposed according to the invention. Further preferred further developments of the invention can be found in the dependent claims, the figures and the associated description.

Gemäß dem Grundgedanken der Erfindung wird vorgeschlagen, dass

  • die Auswurfeinrichtung zwischen dem Speicher und der Trommelbaugruppe in Bezug zu der Transportbewegung der stabförmigen Rauchartikel stromabwärts zu der Sensoreinrichtung angeordnet ist, und
  • eine Rolleinrichtung vorgesehen ist, welche die in einem Erfassungsbereich der Sensoreinrichtung befindlichen stabförmigen Rauchartikel um ihre Längsachsen dreht.
According to the basic idea of the invention, it is proposed that
  • the ejection device is arranged between the store and the drum assembly in relation to the transport movement of the rod-shaped smoking articles downstream of the sensor device, and
  • a rolling device is provided which rotates the rod-shaped smoking articles located in a detection area of the sensor device about their longitudinal axes.

Die erfindungsgemäße Lösung basiert zunächst darauf, dass die Auswurfeinrichtung zwischen dem Speicher und der Trommelbaugruppe an dedem Führungskanal vorgesehen, in welchem die Produkte in einem einreihigen Streifen geführt werden. Durch die einreihige Führung der Produkte in dem Führungskanal in einer einzigen Lage wird die Möglichkeit geschaffen, die Produkte einzeln auf die Einhaltung vorbestimmter Sollwerte verschiedener Parameter wie z.B. Länge, Durchmesser, Position, Kopfbeschaffenheit zu prüfen, bevor sie der Trommelbaugruppe zugeführt werden. Dazu ist eine Sensoreinrichtung vorgesehen, welche speziell zur Überprüfung der einzuhaltenden Parameter ausgebildet, eingerichtet und angeordnet ist. Ferner ist in Bezug zu der Transportbewegung der Produkte stromabwärts zu der Sensoreinrichtung eine Auswurfeinrichtung vorgesehen, welche in Abhängigkeit von dem Signal der Sensoreinrichtung angesteuert wird. Das Signal der Sensoreinrichtung ist dabei wiederum abhängig von dem Unter- oder Überschreiten vorbestimmter Grenzwerte durch die gemessenen Messwerte der zu detektierenden Parameter der Produkte. Die Auswurfeinrichtung wird ausschließlich dann angesteuert bzw. aktiviert, wenn ein nicht den vorbestimmten Parametern entsprechendes Produkt also ein Produkt minderer Qualität detektiert wird. Im Ergebnis werden der Trommelbaugruppe dann Produkte mit einer geringeren Fehlerquote bzw. einer verbesserten gemittelten Qualität zugeführt und infolgedessen die gemittelte Qualität der produzierten Endprodukte bei einer nicht reduzierten Förderkapazität der Trommelbaugruppe verbessert. Dies liegt vor allem daran, da die schadhaften Produkte vor dem Zuführen zu der Trommelbaugruppe ausgeworfen werden, so dass grundsätzlich alle Mulden der Trommelbaugruppe mit fehlerfreien Produkten besetzt sind, und die Förderkapazität nicht reduziert wird bzw. die Förderkapazität der Fördereinrichtung mit Produkten ohne Mängel im Vergleich zu der im Stand der Technik bekannten Lösung erhöht wird. Da die Produkte in dem Führungskanal durch die Schwerkraft selbsttätig nachrutschen, werden die durch das Auswerfen der schadhaften Produkte in dem Führungskanal geschaffenen Lücken selbsttätig wieder geschlossen. Ein sehr wichtiges Merkmal der Erfindung ist es, dass die Produkte in dem Führungskanal einreihig geführt werden und dadurch einzeln detektiert werden können, und die Meßergebnisse nicht durch eine Mehrlagigkeit und eine dadurch bedingte Übereinanderanordnung der Produkte in Messrichtung verfälscht werden. Ferner kann die Wahrscheinlichkeit reduziert werden, dass Produkte mit geplatzten Längsnähten oder anderen schwerwiegenden Fehlern, welche in der Trommelbaugruppe einen Notstop zur Folge haben können, in die Trommelbaugruppe gelangen. Damit kann die Ausfallwahrscheinlichkeit der gesamten Fördereinrichtung erheblich reduziert werden, indem die schadhaften Produkte in Transportrichtung stromaufwärts zu der Trommelbaugruppe, also vor dem Eintreten in die Trommelbaugruppe ausgeschleust werden. Zwischen dem Speicher und der Trommelbaugruppe ist dabei auf die Transportbewegung der Produkte bezogen zu verstehen, d. h. der Führungskanal, die Sensoreinrichtung und die Auswurfeinrichtung sind so angeordnet, dass sie während der Transportbewegung von den Produkten auf dem Weg von dem Speicher zu der Trommelbaugruppe passiert werden. Der Begriff "zwischen" ist damit nicht einschränkend als eine geometrische Anordnung zu verstehen.The solution according to the invention is initially based on the ejection device being provided between the store and the drum assembly on the guide channel in which the products are guided in a single-row strip. The single-row guidance of the products in the guide channel in a single layer creates the possibility of checking the products individually for compliance with predetermined setpoints of various parameters such as length, diameter, position, head quality, before they are fed to the drum assembly. For this purpose, a sensor device is provided which is specially designed, set up and arranged for checking the parameters to be observed. Furthermore, in relation to the transport movement of the products, there is an ejection device downstream of the sensor device provided, which is controlled as a function of the signal from the sensor device. The signal from the sensor device is in turn dependent on whether or not predetermined limit values are exceeded by the measured values of the parameters of the products to be detected. The ejection device is only controlled or activated when a product that does not correspond to the predetermined parameters, that is to say a product of inferior quality, is detected. As a result, products with a lower error rate or an improved average quality are fed to the drum assembly and, as a result, the average quality of the end products produced is improved with a non-reduced conveying capacity of the drum assembly. This is mainly due to the fact that the defective products are ejected before being fed to the drum assembly, so that basically all the troughs of the drum assembly are filled with fault-free products and the conveying capacity is not reduced or the conveying capacity of the conveying device is compared with products without defects is increased to the solution known in the prior art. Since the products automatically slide in the guide channel due to the force of gravity, the gaps created in the guide channel by the ejection of the defective products are automatically closed again. A very important feature of the invention is that the products are guided in a single row in the guide channel and can thus be detected individually, and that the measurement results are not falsified by multiple layers and the resulting stacking of the products in the measurement direction. Furthermore, the probability can be reduced that products with burst longitudinal seams or other serious defects, which can result in an emergency stop in the drum assembly, get into the drum assembly. With that, the The probability of failure of the entire conveyor device can be significantly reduced by the defective products being discharged in the transport direction upstream to the drum assembly, that is, before they enter the drum assembly. Between the store and the drum assembly is to be understood as referring to the transport movement of the products, ie the guide channel, the sensor device and the ejection device are arranged so that they are passed by the products on the way from the store to the drum assembly during the transport movement. The term “between” is therefore not to be understood as a restrictive geometric arrangement.

Weiter wird vorgeschlagen, dass eine Rolleinrichtung vorgesehen ist, welche die in einem Erfassungsbereich der Sensoreinrichtung befindlichen stabförmigen Rauchartikel um ihre Längsachsen dreht. Durch die Rolleinrichtung können die gerade in dem Erfassungsbereich der Sensoreinrichtung befindlichen Rauchartikel, also die Rauchartikel die gerade durch die Sensoreinrichtung detektiert werden, während der Vermessung bewusst um ihre Längsachsen gedreht werden, so dass die Parameter wie. z.B. die Oberflächenbeschaffenheit, Rundheit, Nahtverlauf und der Verschluss der Naht vollumfänglich detektiert werden können.It is further proposed that a rolling device is provided which rotates the rod-shaped smoking articles located in a detection area of the sensor device about their longitudinal axes. By means of the rolling device, the smoking articles currently in the detection area of the sensor device, that is to say the smoking articles that are currently being detected by the sensor device, can be deliberately rotated about their longitudinal axes during the measurement, so that the parameters such as. E.g. the surface properties, roundness, seam course and the closure of the seam can be fully detected.

Die Auswurfeinrichtung kann bevorzugt durch eine pneumatische Ausblaseinrichtung gebildet sein, welche die schadhaften Produkte aus dem Streifen der Produkte in dem Führungskanal ausbläst. Durch das pneumatische Ausblasen der fehlerhaften Produkte kann das Ausschleusen ohne einen Eingriff in die Reihe der Produkte praktisch berührungslos verwirklicht werden, so dass eine Beschädigung der benachbarten Produkte ausgeschlossen werden kann.The ejection device can preferably be formed by a pneumatic blow-out device which blows the defective products out of the strip of products in the guide channel. By pneumatically blowing out the defective products, the discharge can be carried out practically without contact without intervening in the row of products, so that damage to the neighboring products can be ruled out.

Alternativ kann die Auswurfeinrichtung auch durch eine Muldentrommel gebildet sein, welche mit Unter- oder Überdruck beaufschlagbare Aufnahmen aufweist, wobei der Unter- bzw. Überdruck in den Aufnahmen bevorzugt steuerbar ist. Die Produkte werden zunächst in den Aufnahmen der Muldentrommel aufgenommen, wobei das Aufnehmen der Produkte in den Aufnahmen z.B. durch einen angelegten Unterdruck in den Aufnahmen unterstützt werden kann. Das Auswerfen der Produkte erfolgt dann dadurch, indem die schadhaften Produkte aus der Transportkette der Produkte zu einem Auswurfpunkt weitertransportiert werden. Dies kann z.B. dadurch erfolgen, indem der Unterdruck in den Aufnahmen, in welchem nicht schadhafte Produkte gehalten werden, an einem ersten Punkt abgeschaltet werden und die nichtschadhaften Produkte dadurch abgegeben werden und die weitere Transportkette zu der Trommelbaugruppe bilden. Die Aufnahmen, in denen schadhafte Produkte gehalten werden, werden über den ersten Punkt hinaus mit Unterdruck beaufschlagt, so dass die Produkte weiter zu dem Auswurfpunkt transportiert werden. Das Auswerfen der schadhaften Produkte erfolgt dann in dem Auswurfpunkt entweder durch ein alleiniges Abschalten des Unterdruckes passiv und/oder zusätzlich durch das Beaufschlagen der Aufnahmen mit Überdruck, so dass die Produkte aus den Aufnahmen aktiv ausgeworfen werden. Dazu ist die Steuerung des Unterdruckes bzw. Überdruckes in den Aufnahmen bevorzugt derart ausgebildet, dass der Unter- bzw. Überdruck in den verschiedenen Aufnahmen unabhängig voneinander steuerbar ist, d.h. der Unterdruck bzw. Überdruck in einer Aufnahme kann unabhängig von dem Unter- bzw. Überdruck in den beiden benachbarten Aufnahmen gesteuert werden.Alternatively, the ejection device can also be formed by a troughed drum which has receptacles that can be acted upon by negative or overpressure, the underpressure or overpressure in the receptacles preferably being controllable. The products are first received in the receptacles of the troughed drum, it being possible to support the receiving of the products in the receptacles, for example, by an applied negative pressure in the receptacles. The products are then ejected by transporting the defective products from the product transport chain to an ejection point. This can be done, for example, in that the negative pressure in the receptacles in which non-defective products are held is switched off at a first point and the non-defective products are thereby released and form the further transport chain to the drum assembly. The receptacles in which defective products are held are subjected to negative pressure beyond the first point, so that the products are transported on to the ejection point. The defective products are then ejected at the ejection point either by simply switching off the negative pressure passively and / or additionally by applying overpressure to the receptacles, so that the products are actively ejected from the receptacles. For this purpose, the control of the negative pressure or overpressure in the receptacles is preferably designed such that the underpressure or overpressure in the various receptacles can be controlled independently of one another, ie the underpressure or overpressure in a receptacle can be independent of the underpressure or overpressure can be controlled in the two adjacent recordings.

Weiter kann der geschaffene Führungskanal zusätzlich zur Anordnung einer zwischen der Auswurfeinrichtung und der Trommelbaugruppe angeordneten Schneideinrichtung zum Schneiden der Produkte genutzt werden. Dadurch können für die erste Trommel der Trommelbaugruppe und alle weiteren Trommeln der Trommelbaugruppe Mulden normaler Tiefe vorgesehen werden, da an keiner dieser Trommeln ein Schnittvorgang vorgenommen werden muss, so dass die an den Trommeln vorgesehenen Mulden in der Folge kein Widerlager zur Verwirklichung des Schnittvorganges bilden müssen. Damit kann ein wesentliches, bisher zu lösendes Problem des Trommellaufes, nämlich die Übergabe der Produkte aus tieferen Mulden der Trommel mit der Schneidvorrichtung in Mulden einer übernehmenden Trommel mit einer normalen Tiefe vermieden werden. Ferner kann der Trommellauf dadurch vereinfacht werden, da das Schneiden der Produkte vor dem Eintreten der Produkte in den Trommellauf stattfindet, so dass die durch das Schneiden bedingten Geschwindigkeitssprünge in der aus dem Stand der Technik bekannten Trommelbaugruppe ebenfalls vermieden bzw. in der Anzahl verringert werden können.Furthermore, the created guide channel can additionally be used for the arrangement of a cutting device arranged between the ejection device and the drum assembly for cutting the products. As a result, depressions of normal depth can be provided for the first drum of the drum assembly and all other drums of the drum assembly, since a cutting process does not have to be carried out on any of these drums, so that the depressions provided on the drums subsequently do not have to form an abutment to implement the cutting process . This makes it possible to avoid an essential problem of the drum running that had to be solved so far, namely the transfer of the products from deeper troughs of the drum with the cutting device into troughs of a receiving drum with a normal depth. Furthermore, the drum run can be simplified because the products are cut before the products enter the drum run, so that the jumps in speed caused by the cutting in the drum assembly known from the prior art can also be avoided or reduced in number .

Weiter wird vorgeschlagen, dass mehrere Speicher mit jeweils einem Führungskanal vorgesehen sind, aus denen die stabförmigen Rauchartikel der Trommelbaugruppe zugeführt werden. Die vorgeschlagene einlagige Führung der Produkte in den Führungskanälen hat zwar den Vorteil, dass die Qualität der Produkte vor dem Einlauf in die Trommelbaugruppe detektiert werden kann, die Lösung ist aber insofern von Nachteil, da der Mengenstrom der Produkte, welcher der Trommelbaugruppe zugeführt wird, aufgrund der begrenzten Vorschubgeschwindigkeit der Produkte in dem Führungskanal begrenzt ist. Dieser Nachteil kann dadurch kompensiert werden, indem mehrere Speicher mit zugeordneten Führungskanälen vorgesehen werden, aus denen die Produkte in einer Parallelführung der Trommelbaugruppe zugeführt werden. Dadurch kann der Mengenstrom der Produkte, welcher der Trommelbaugruppe zugeführt wird, entsprechend der Anzahl der Speicher und der Führungskanäle vervielfacht werden.It is further proposed that a plurality of stores are provided, each with a guide channel, from which the rod-shaped smoking articles are fed to the drum assembly. The proposed single-layer guidance of the products in the guide channels has the advantage that the quality of the products can be detected before they enter the drum assembly, but the solution is disadvantageous because the mass flow of the products that is fed to the drum assembly is due to the limited feed speed of the products in the guide channel is limited. This disadvantage can be compensated for by adding several storage units with assigned guide channels are provided, from which the products are fed to the drum assembly in a parallel guide. As a result, the mass flow of the products which is fed to the drum assembly can be multiplied in accordance with the number of stores and guide channels.

Dabei erfolgt die Zuführung der stabförmigen Rauchartikel aus den Führungskanälen in die Mulden der ersten Trommel der Trommelbaugruppe bevorzugt in einem fest vorgegebenen Rhythmus, so dass die Speicher gemäß einer vorbestimmten Zuführcharakteristik entleert und die Mulden der ersten Trommel in einer vorbekannten Verteilung mit den Produkten der verschiedenen Speicher befüllt werden. Dabei kann der fest vorgegebene Rhythmus bevorzugt so ausgebildet sein, dass die Produkte mit identischen Mengenströmen aus den verschiedenen Speichern zugeführt und in einer gleichmäßigen Verteilung in den Mulden der ersten Trommel übernommen werden.The rod-shaped smoking articles are fed from the guide channels into the troughs of the first drum of the drum assembly, preferably in a fixed, predetermined rhythm, so that the store is emptied according to a predetermined feed characteristic and the troughs of the first drum in a known distribution with the products of the various stores be filled. The fixed, predetermined rhythm can preferably be designed in such a way that the products are supplied with identical flow rates from the various storage units and are taken over in a uniform distribution in the troughs of the first drum.

Die Zuführung der Produkte aus den verschiedenen Speichern kann dabei weiter verbessert werden, indem eine Steuereinrichtung vorgesehen ist, welche die Zuführung der stabförmigen Rauchartikel aus den verschiedenen Zuführkanälen in die Mulden der ersten Trommel steuert. Die Steuereinrichtung kann z.B. so ausgebildet sein, dass sie die Abgabe der Produkte aus den verschiedenen Führungskanälen in die Mulden in einer Kopplung so steuert, dass die Produkte nacheinander in die benachbarten Mulden der ersten Trommel eingeführt werden, wobei der Zeitversatz bevorzugt an die Drehbewegung der ersten Trommel angepasst ist, wodurch die Abgabe der Produkte aus den verschiedenen Führungskanälen zu der Drehbewegung der ersten Trommel synchronisiert werden kann.The supply of the products from the various stores can be further improved by providing a control device which controls the supply of the rod-shaped smoking articles from the various supply channels into the troughs of the first drum. The control device can for example be designed in such a way that it controls the delivery of the products from the different guide channels into the troughs in a coupling so that the products are introduced one after the other into the adjacent troughs of the first drum, the time offset preferably being due to the rotational movement of the first drum Drum is adapted, whereby the delivery of the products from the various guide channels can be synchronized with the rotary movement of the first drum.

Dabei können die Mulden der ersten Trommel bevorzugt in verschiedene, den Zuführkanälen zugeordnete Gruppen unterteilt sein. Durch die vorgeschlagene Unterteilung der Mulden der ersten Trommel können die Mulden entsprechend der Zuführung der Produkte aus den Speichern unterteilt werden und zwar sowohl in der geometrischen Anordnung als auch in der Anpassung der Verhältnisse der Anzahl der Mulden an die Größenverhältnisse der Speicher. Dabei kann die Anzahl der Mulden der verschiedenen Gruppen identisch sein, sofern die aus den Speichern zugeführten Mengenströme der Produkte ebenfalls identisch sind. Ferner können die Produkte der verschiedenen Führungskanäle durch die vorgeschlagene Weiterentwicklung zeitgleich in die Mulden ersten Trommel eingeführt werden.The troughs of the first drum can preferably be subdivided into different groups assigned to the feed channels. Through the proposed subdivision of the troughs of the first drum, the troughs can be subdivided according to the supply of the products from the stores, both in the geometric arrangement and in the adaptation of the proportions of the number of troughs to the size relationships of the stores. The number of troughs in the different groups can be identical, provided that the product flows from the storage units are also identical. Furthermore, the proposed further development allows the products of the various guide channels to be introduced into the troughs of the first drum at the same time.

Dabei können die Mulden der verschiedenen Gruppen bevorzugt jeweils wechselweise aufeinanderfolgend angeordnet sein. Die Produkte werden über die verschiedenen Führungskanäle in verschiedenen Winkelabschnitten des Umfanges der ersten Trommel in die Mulden eingeführt, oder anders ausgedrückt, die Führungskanäle werden von den Mulden beim Umlaufen nacheinander passiert. Durch die über den Umfang der ersten Trommel wechselweise aufeinanderfolgend angeordneten Mulden der verschiedenen Gruppen kann die Abgabe der Produkte aus den Führungskanälen in die benachbarten Mulden beim Umlaufen der ersten Trommel nacheinander erfolgen, wobei die Stelle der Abgabe der Produkte aus einem Führungskanal immer der Befüllungsposition der Mulden der diesem zugeordneten Gruppe entspricht.The troughs of the different groups can preferably each be arranged alternately one behind the other. The products are introduced into the troughs via the various guide channels in different angular sections of the circumference of the first drum, or in other words, the guide channels are passed by the troughs one after the other as they rotate. Due to the troughs of the various groups arranged alternately one after the other over the circumference of the first drum, the products can be dispensed from the guide channels into the adjacent troughs one after the other as the first drum rotates, whereby the point of delivery of the products from a guide channel always corresponds to the filling position of the troughs corresponds to the group assigned to this.

Dabei kann die Befüllung der Mulden einer Gruppe sehr einfach dadurch erfolgen, indem die Steuereinrichtung die Zuführung der stabförmigen Rauchartikel aus den jeweiligen Führungskanälen in die Mulden der zugeordneten Gruppen steuert.The troughs of a group can be filled very easily by the control device supplying the Rod-shaped smoking article controls from the respective guide channels into the troughs of the assigned groups.

Die Erfindung wird im Folgenden anhand bevorzugter Ausführungsformen unter Bezugnahme auf die beigefügten Figuren erläutert. Dabei zeigt

Fig. 1
eine erfindungsgemäße Fördereinrichtung mit einem Speicher, einem Führungskanal und einer ersten Trommel einer Trommelbaugruppe; und
Fig. 2
eine Auswurfeinrichtung in Form einer pneumatischen Ausblaseinrichtung; und
Fig. 3
eine Auswurfeinrichtung in Form einer Muldentrommel; und
Fig. 4
eine Fördereinrichtung mit mehreren Führungskanälen und einer Steuereinrichtung gemäß einer ersten Ausführungsform; und
Fig. 5
eine Fördereinrichtung mit mehreren Führungskanälen und einer Steuereinrichtung gemäß einer zweiten Ausführungsform; und
Fig. 6
eine Schneideinrichtung mit zwei einseitigen Schneidmessern und einem einseitigen, angetriebenen Band in einer ersten Ansicht; und
Fig. 7
eine Schneideinrichtung mit zwei einseitigen Schneidmessern und zwei angetriebenen Bändern in einer ersten Ansicht; und
Fig. 8
eine Schneideinrichtung mit zwei einseitigen Schneidmessern und zwei angetriebenen Bändern in einer zweiten Ansicht; und
Fig. 9
eine Schneideinrichtung mit zwei einseitigen Schneidmessern und einem einseitigen, angetriebenen Band in einer zweiten Ansicht.
The invention is explained below on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures. It shows
Fig. 1
a conveyor device according to the invention with a store, a guide channel and a first drum of a drum assembly; and
Fig. 2
an ejection device in the form of a pneumatic blow-out device; and
Fig. 3
an ejection device in the form of a troughed drum; and
Fig. 4
a conveying device with a plurality of guide channels and a control device according to a first embodiment; and
Fig. 5
a conveying device with a plurality of guide channels and a control device according to a second embodiment; and
Fig. 6
a cutting device with two single-sided cutting knives and a single-sided, driven belt in a first view; and
Fig. 7
a cutting device with two single-sided cutting knives and two driven belts in a first view; and
Fig. 8
a cutting device with two single-sided cutting knives and two driven belts in a second view; and
Fig. 9
a cutting device with two single-sided cutting knives and a single-sided, driven belt in a second view.

In der Figur 1 ist eine erfindungsgemäße Fördereinrichtung mit einem Speicher 2 mit einer Vielzahl von darin angeordneten stabförmigen Rauchartikeln 1 zu erkennen, welche in einem Stapel mit parallel zueinander ausgerichteten Längsachsen in dem Speicher 2 bevorratet sind. Die stabförmigen Rauchartikel 1 sind so ausgerichtet, dass ihre Stirnseiten sich zu parallel zueinander ausgerichteten Ebenen ergänzen und der Stapel damit eine der Länge der Rauchartikel 1 entsprechende Dicke aufweist. Die stabförmigen Rauchartikel 1 werden nachfolgend der Einfachheit halber als Produkte 15 bezeichnet.In the Figure 1 a conveyor device according to the invention with a store 2 with a plurality of rod-shaped smoking articles 1 arranged therein can be seen, which are stored in the store 2 in a stack with longitudinal axes aligned parallel to one another. The rod-shaped smoking articles 1 are aligned in such a way that their end faces complement each other to form planes aligned parallel to one another and the stack thus has a thickness corresponding to the length of the smoking articles 1. The rod-shaped smoking articles 1 are hereinafter referred to as products 15 for the sake of simplicity.

Die Produkte 15 gelangen über einen Schacht mit seitlich angeordneten, zu Vibrationen anregbaren Seitenwänden 3 in einen Führungskanal 11, welcher derart bemessen ist, dass die Produkte 15 darin mit parallel zueinander angeordneten Längsachsen, in einem einlagigen Streifen mit einer der Länge der Produkte 15 entsprechenden Breite geführt werden. Die Produkte 15 rutschen aus dem Speicher 2 bedingt durch die Schwerkraft in den Führungskanal 11, wobei die Vibrationen der Seitenwände 3 diese Bewegung unterstützen und verhindern, dass die Produkte 15 gegeneinander verklemmen oder verkeilen.The products 15 pass through a shaft with laterally arranged side walls 3 that can be excited to vibrate into a guide channel 11, which is dimensioned such that the products 15 therein with longitudinal axes arranged parallel to one another, in a single-layer strip with a width corresponding to the length of the products 15 be guided. Due to the force of gravity, the products 15 slide out of the store 2 into the guide channel 11, the vibrations of the side walls 3 supporting this movement and preventing the products 15 from jamming or wedging against one another.

An dem Führungskanal 11 sind in gegenüberliegender Anordnung eine Sensoreinrichtung 5 und eine Rolleinrichtung 4 vorgesehen. Die Rolleinrichtung 4 umfasst mehrere einzelne, zu einer Drehbewegung antreibbare Rollen und ist derart angeordnet, dass sie bei einer Aktivierung die in dem Erfassungsbereich der Sensoreinrichtung 5 befindlichen Produkte 15 um ihrer Längsachsen dreht. Damit können die Produkte 15 über ihre gesamte Umfangsfläche von der Sensoreinrichtung 5 gescannt werden. Dabei ist die Sensoreinrichtung 5 so ausgebildet, dass sie verschiedene Parameter, wie z.B. die Länge, die Rundheit, die Oberflächenbeschaffenheit oder auch einen Nahtverlauf bzw. den Schließzustand einer Naht der Produkte 15 detektiert. Sofern dies gewünscht ist, können die ermittelten Daten der Produkte 15 in einem Speicher für eine spätere Auswertung bzw. eine Kontrolle der Qualität protokolliert werden. Da die Produkte 15 aufgrund der einlagigen Führung einzeln gescannt werden können, können die ermittelten Daten dabei jeweils einem einzigen Produkt 15 zugeordnet werden, und die ermittelten Daten können aufgrund der einlagigen Führung insbesondere nicht durch ein unbeabsichtigtes Scannen von darunter oder darüber liegenden Produkten 15 verfälscht werden.A sensor device 5 and a roller device 4 are provided in an opposing arrangement on the guide channel 11. The rolling device 4 comprises a plurality of individual rollers that can be driven into a rotary movement and is arranged in such a way that, when activated, it rotates the products 15 located in the detection area of the sensor device 5 about their longitudinal axes. The products 15 can thus be scanned by the sensor device 5 over their entire circumferential surface. The sensor device 5 is designed in such a way that it detects various parameters, such as the length, the roundness, the surface quality or also a seam course or the closed state of a seam of the products 15. If this is desired, the determined data of the products 15 can be recorded in a memory for a later evaluation or a control of the quality. Since the products 15 can be scanned individually due to the single-layer guidance, the determined data can each be assigned to a single product 15, and the determined data cannot be falsified due to the single-layer guidance, in particular by inadvertent scanning of products 15 below or above it .

Weiter sind in Bezug zu der Transportrichtung der Produkte 15 stromabwärts zu der Sensoreinrichtung 5 also hier unterhalb der Sensoreinrichtung 5 eine Auswurfeinrichtung 6 und eine federbelastete Klappe 7 vorgesehen. Die Auswurfeinrichtung 6 wird dann aktiviert, wenn durch die Sensoreinrichtung 5 ein Wert eines Parameters eines Produktes 15 ermittelt wurde, welcher außerhalb eines vorbestimmten Toleranzbandes zu einem Sollwert des Parameters liegt, wodurch auf ein schadhaftes Produkt 15 geschlossen werden kann. Die Auswurfeinrichtung 6 ist hier durch eine in der Figur 2 in einer vergrößerten Darstellung zu erkennende pneumatische Ausblaseinrichtung 16 gebildet, welche bei einer Aktivierung einen Druckluftstrahl in Richtung des Streifens der Produkte 15 aussendet. Die Ausblaseinrichtung 16 ist dabei so positioniert, und sie wird genau so angesteuert, dass der ausgesendete Druckluftstrahl unter Berücksichtigung der von dem Produkt 15 von der Sensoreinrichtung 5 zu der Ausblaseinrichtung 16 zurückgelegten Wegstrecke auf das von der Sensoreinrichtung 5 als schadhaft detektierte Produkt 15 trifft und dadurch das schadhafte Produkt 15 auswirft. Die Klappe 7 kann durch eine federbelastete Platte oder auch nur durch zwei Federarme 20 verwirklicht sein und bildet eine Führung für die Produkte 15 über eine der Ausblaseinrichtung 16 gegenüber liegende Öffnung 17 hinweg. Wird die Ausblaseinrichtung 16 aktiviert, so führt der ausgesendete Druckluftstoss dazu, dass das schadhafte Produkt 15 gegen die Klappe 7 bzw. die Federarme 20 gedrängt wird. Dadurch wird die Klappe 7 bzw. werden die Federarme 20 unter Überwindung der Federkraft nach außen verschwenkt, so dass die Öffnung 17 freigegeben wird und das schadhafte Produkt 15 aus der Öffnung 17 ausgestoßen und als Auswurf 8 über Rampen 21 in einen Auffangbehälter abgeführt wird. Die durch den Ausstoß des schadhaften Produktes 15 gebildete Lücke in dem Streifen der Produkte 15 in dem Führungskanal 11 wird durch die nachrutschenden Produkte 15 selbsttätig wieder geschlossen.Furthermore, in relation to the transport direction of the products 15, an ejection device 6 and a spring-loaded flap 7 are provided downstream of the sensor device 5, that is to say here below the sensor device 5. The ejection device 6 is activated when a value of a parameter of a product 15 has been determined by the sensor device 5, which value lies outside a predetermined tolerance band to a target value of the parameter, whereby a defective product 15 can be inferred. The ejector 6 is here by one in the Figure 2 in an enlarged view to be recognized pneumatic Blow-out device 16 is formed which, when activated, emits a jet of compressed air in the direction of the strip of products 15. The blow-out device 16 is positioned and controlled in such a way that the emitted compressed air jet, taking into account the distance covered by the product 15 from the sensor device 5 to the blow-out device 16, hits the product 15 detected as defective by the sensor device 5 and thereby ejects the defective product 15. The flap 7 can be realized by a spring-loaded plate or also only by two spring arms 20 and forms a guide for the products 15 over an opening 17 opposite the blow-out device 16. If the blow-out device 16 is activated, the emitted blast of compressed air causes the defective product 15 to be forced against the flap 7 or the spring arms 20. As a result, the flap 7 or the spring arms 20 are pivoted outward, overcoming the spring force, so that the opening 17 is released and the defective product 15 is ejected from the opening 17 and discharged as an ejection 8 via ramps 21 into a collecting container. The gap formed by the ejection of the defective product 15 in the strip of the products 15 in the guide channel 11 is automatically closed again by the products 15 sliding down.

In der Figur 3 ist ein alternatives Ausführungsbeispiel der Auswurfeinrichtung 6 zu erkennen, bei dem der Auswurf der schadhaften Produkte 15 über eine Muldentrommel 31 verwirklicht ist, welche mehrere mit Unter- bzw. Überdruck beaufschlagbare Aufnahmen 32 aufweist. Die Muldentrommel 31 wird entweder durch den Transportdruck der Produkte 15 passiv oder auch durch eine nicht dargestellte Antriebseinrichtung aktiv zu einer Drehbewegung angetrieben. Die Produkte 15 werden von oben aus dem Führungskanal 11 zugeführt und weiter über eine erste Kante 35 des Führungskanals 11 in Richtung der Muldentrommel 31 bzw. der Aufnahmen 32 abgelenkt. Dadurch tritt jeweils ein Produkt 15 in eine Aufnahme 32 ein und wird über die drehende Muldentrommel 31 weiter transportiert. Wird über die Sensoreinrichtung 5 ein schadhaftes Produkt 15 detektiert, so wird wiederum unter Berücksichtigung der Laufzeit des Produktes 15 von der Sensoreinrichtung 5 zu der Muldentrommel 31 hin die Aufnahme 32, in welcher das Produkt 15 gehalten ist, mit Unterdruck beaufschlagt und das darin gehaltene schadhafte Produkt 15 über eine zweite Kante 34 aus der Transportkette aus dem Führungskanal 11 ausgeführt und in einer Ebene 33 als Auswurf 8 abgeführt, wobei zum Abführen der Unterdruck in der jeweiligen Aufnahme 32 entweder abgeschaltet oder durch einen geringfügigen Überdruck ersetzt werden kann.In the Figure 3 an alternative embodiment of the ejection device 6 can be seen in which the ejection of the defective products 15 is realized via a troughed drum 31 which has several receptacles 32 which can be subjected to negative or positive pressure. The troughed drum 31 is either passively driven by the transport pressure of the products 15 or actively driven to rotate by a drive device (not shown). The products 15 are removed from the guide channel 11 from above fed and further deflected over a first edge 35 of the guide channel 11 in the direction of the trough drum 31 or the receptacles 32. As a result, a product 15 in each case enters a receptacle 32 and is transported onward via the rotating trough drum 31. If a defective product 15 is detected via the sensor device 5, then again taking into account the transit time of the product 15 from the sensor device 5 to the trough drum 31, the receptacle 32 in which the product 15 is held is subjected to negative pressure and the defective product held therein Product 15 is carried out of the guide channel 11 via a second edge 34 from the transport chain and discharged in a plane 33 as an ejection 8, whereby the negative pressure in the respective receptacle 32 can either be switched off or replaced by a slight overpressure for discharging.

Weiter ist in Bezug zu der Transportrichtung der Produkte 15 stromabwärts zu der Auswurfeinrichtung 6 eine Schneideinrichtung 17 vorgesehen, welche in den Figuren 6 bis 9 in zwei verschiedenen Ausführungsformen vergrößert dargestellt ist.Furthermore, a cutting device 17 is provided in relation to the transport direction of the products 15 downstream of the ejection device 6, which in the Figures 6 to 9 is shown enlarged in two different embodiments.

Die Schneideinrichtung 17 umfasst jeweils zwei Schneidmesser 43, welche mit ihren Schneiden parallel zu der Transportrichtung der Produkte 15 und damit senkrecht zu den Längsachsen der Produkte 15 ortsfest ausgerichtet sind. Ferner sind die Schneidmesser 43 so angeordnet, dass sie an einer vorbestimmten Position in den Transportweg der Produkte 15 hineinragen, so dass die in dem Führungskanal 11 daran vorbeigeführten Produkte 15 während der Transportbewegung selbsttätig geschnitten werden. Die Schneidmesser 43 können gemäß den in den Figuren 1, 6, 7 und 8 gezeigten Ausführungsbeispielen als Rundmesser oder gemäß dem Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 9 auch als Messer mit einer geraden Schnittkannte ausgebildet sein.The cutting device 17 comprises two cutting knives 43, which are oriented in a stationary manner with their cutting edges parallel to the transport direction of the products 15 and thus perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the products 15. Furthermore, the cutting knives 43 are arranged in such a way that they protrude into the transport path of the products 15 at a predetermined position, so that the products 15 guided past them in the guide channel 11 are automatically cut during the transport movement. The cutting blades 43 can according to the in FIGS Figures 1 , 6th , 7th and 8th Embodiments shown as a circular knife or according to the Embodiment of the Figure 9 can also be designed as a knife with a straight cutting edge.

Ferner umfasst die Schneideinrichtung 17 ein oder zwei flexible Bänder 41 und 44, welche um jeweils zwei Rollen gespannt sind und mit einem Führungsabschnitt parallel zu dem Führungskanal 11 ausgerichtet sind und seitlich in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragen. Dadurch gelangen die in dem Führungskanal 11 befindlichen Produkte 15 während des Schnittvorganges seitlich reibschlüssig zur Anlage an Bändern 41 und 44, wobei die Produkte 15 durch den Schnittvorgang zusätzlich gegen die gegenüber den Schneidmessern 43 liegenden Bänder 41 gedrängt werden. Die Produkte 15 werden dann durch die reibschlüssige Anlage an den Bändern 41 und 44 während des Schnittvorganges um ihre Längsachsen gedreht. Damit reicht es aus, wenn die Schneidmesser 43 die Produkte 15 nur bis zur Hälfte des Durchmessers oder geringfügig darüber hinaus schneiden, während die Produkte 15 um ihre Längsachsen drehen. Die Produkte 15 führen praktisch eine Relativdrehbewegung zu den Schneidmessern 43 aus und werden dadurch über den Umfang, ähnlich dem "Rohrschneideprinzip" geschnitten. Dabei werden die Produkte 15 idealerweise um wenigstens eine vollständige Umdrehung um ihre Längsachsen gedreht, und die Schneidmesser 43 ragen wenigstens soweit in die Führungskanal 11 hinein, dass die Produkte bis wenigstens zur Hälfte ihres Durchmessers geschnitten werden. Damit ergibt sich bei einer vollständigen Umdrehung automatisch ein vollständiger Schnitt der Produkte 15.Furthermore, the cutting device 17 comprises one or two flexible bands 41 and 44 which are each stretched around two rollers and are aligned with a guide section parallel to the guide channel 11 and protrude laterally into the guide channel 11. As a result, the products 15 located in the guide channel 11 come laterally frictionally into contact with the belts 41 and 44 during the cutting process, the products 15 being additionally urged against the belts 41 opposite the cutting knives 43 by the cutting process. The products 15 are then rotated about their longitudinal axes during the cutting process by the frictional contact with the belts 41 and 44. It is thus sufficient if the cutting knives 43 cut the products 15 only up to half the diameter or slightly beyond it, while the products 15 rotate about their longitudinal axes. The products 15 practically perform a relative rotational movement to the cutting knives 43 and are thereby cut over the circumference, similar to the "pipe cutting principle". In this case, the products 15 are ideally rotated by at least one complete revolution around their longitudinal axes, and the cutting knives 43 protrude at least so far into the guide channel 11 that the products are cut to at least half their diameter. A complete cut of the products 15 thus automatically results in a complete revolution.

Sofern die beschriebene Drehbewegung der Produkte 15 nicht nur passiv sondern auch aktiv herbeigeführt und gesteuert werden soll, können die Bänder 41 und 44 auch aktiv angetrieben werden. Für den Fall, dass nur ein Band 41 gemäß der Ausführungsform der Figur 6 und der Figur 9 vorgesehen ist, kann das Band 41 beliebig angetrieben werden, soweit der in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragende Führungsabschnitt des Bandes 41 nur mit einer von der Transportgeschwindigkeit der Produkte 15 unterschiedlichen Geschwindigkeit bewegt wird. Diese Relativgeschwindigkeit zwischen den Produkten 15 und dem Band 41 reicht aus, um die Produkte 15 zu einer Drehbewegung um ihre Längsachsen anzutreiben.If the described rotary movement of the products 15 is to be brought about and controlled not only passively but also actively, the belts 41 and 44 can also be actively driven. In the event that only one belt 41 according to the embodiment of FIG Figure 6 and the Figure 9 is provided, the belt 41 can be driven as desired, provided that the guide section of the belt 41 protruding into the guide channel 11 is only moved at a speed different from the transport speed of the products 15. This relative speed between the products 15 and the belt 41 is sufficient to drive the products 15 to rotate about their longitudinal axes.

Sofern zwei Bänder 41 und 44 vorgesehen sind, wie in dem Ausführungsbeispiel der Figuren 7 und 8 zu erkennen ist, reicht es ebenfalls aus, wenn sich die Bänder 41 und 44, in den Abschnitten, welche in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragen, mit unterschiedlichen Geschwindigkeiten und/oder in unterschiedliche Richtungen bewegen. Durch die Verwendung zweier Bänder 41 und 44 kann die Rollbewegung der Produkte 15 noch genauer gesteuert, und es können insbesondere eine vorgegebene Anzahl von Umdrehungen der Produkte 15 um ihre Längsachsen während des Passierens der Schneideinrichtung 17 realisiert werden. Die Bänder 41 und 44 können aus einem flexiblen Material, wie z.B. einem Gewebe oder einem Elastomer ausgebildet sein, so dass sie seitlich ausweichen können und nur begrenzte Druckkräfte auf die Produkte 15 ausüben. Dadurch kann verhindert werden, dass die Produkte 15 durch die von den Bändern 41 und 44 ausgeübten Anpresskräfte beschädigt werden. Ferner können die Bänder 41 und 44 zusätzlich in sich elastisch sein, so dass sie unter Ausübung einer Vorspannung um die Rollen herum gespannt werden können, wodurch der Antrieb der Bänder 41 und 44 über die Rollen vereinfacht werden kann. Ferner können die Bänder 41 und 44 eine die Drehbewegung und den Transport der Produkte unterstützende oder beeinflussende Oberflächenbeschaffenheit und Oberflächenstruktur, wie z.B. eine Profilierung mit Nocken und Vertiefungen aufweisen. Dabei kann die spezielle Oberflächenbeschaffenheit sowohl durch eine reibungserhöhende als auch durch eine reibungsreduzierende Oberfläche verwirklicht sein, um den Rolleffekt herbeizuführen, indem die Produkte 15 an einer Seite durch eine reibungserhöhende Oberfläche bewusst mitgenommen oder gebremst werden und gegenüber dem gegenüber liegenden Band 41 oder 44 durch eine daran vorgesehene reibungsreduzierende Oberfläche leichter drehen können. Die Bänder 41 und 44 können also bewusst eine unterschiedliche Oberflächenstruktur und/oder Oberflächenbeschaffenheit aufweisen, so dass die Produkte 15 an einem der Bänder 41 oder 44 anhaften bzw. bewusst abrollen, während sie gegenüber dem jeweils anderen Band 41 oder 44 bewusst eine Relativbewegung ausführen können.If two bands 41 and 44 are provided, as in the embodiment of FIG Figures 7 and 8th As can be seen, it is also sufficient if the belts 41 and 44, in the sections which protrude into the guide channel 11, move at different speeds and / or in different directions. By using two belts 41 and 44, the rolling movement of the products 15 can be controlled even more precisely and, in particular, a predetermined number of revolutions of the products 15 about their longitudinal axes can be realized while they are passing the cutting device 17. The straps 41 and 44 can be made of a flexible material, such as a fabric or an elastomer, so that they can give way to the side and only exert limited pressure forces on the products 15. This can prevent the products 15 from being damaged by the pressing forces exerted by the belts 41 and 44. Furthermore, the belts 41 and 44 can additionally be elastic in themselves, so that they can be tensioned around the rollers with the exertion of a pretensioning, whereby the drive of the belts 41 and 44 via the rollers can be simplified. Furthermore, the belts 41 and 44 can have a surface quality and surface structure that supports or influences the rotary movement and the transport of the products, such as, for example, a profile with cams and depressions. The special Surface texture can be realized by a friction-increasing as well as a friction-reducing surface in order to bring about the rolling effect, in that the products 15 are deliberately carried along or braked on one side by a friction-increasing surface and on the opposite belt 41 or 44 by a friction-reducing surface provided thereon can turn more easily. The belts 41 and 44 can therefore deliberately have a different surface structure and / or surface quality, so that the products 15 adhere to one of the belts 41 or 44 or consciously roll off, while they can consciously execute a relative movement with respect to the respective other belt 41 or 44 .

Nach dem Durchlaufen der Schneideinrichtung 17 werden die geschnittenen Produkte 15 einer ersten Trommel 13 eines Trommellaufes bzw. einer Trommelbaugruppe zugeführt, und von dieser über mit Unterdruck beaufschlagbare Mulden 14 quer zu ihren Längsachsen in einer Drehbewegung abgeführt.After passing through the cutting device 17, the cut products 15 are fed to a first drum 13 of a drum run or drum assembly, and are removed from this in a rotary movement transversely to their longitudinal axes via troughs 14 that can be subjected to negative pressure.

Neben dem Führungskanal 11 weist die Fördereinrichtung zwei weitere Führungskanäle 11 auf, aus denen weitere Produkte 15 aus zusätzlichen Speichern 2 in derselben Art und Weise zugeführt und über eine Steuereinrichtung 12 in die Mulden 14 der ersten Trommel 13 eingeführt werden. Die erste Trommel 13 kann auch als Entnahmetrommel bezeichnet werden, welche die Produkte 15 nicht unmittelbar aus den Speichern 2 entnimmt, sondern stattdessen aus den dazwischen vorgesehenen Führungskanälen 11. Der Vorteil dieser Weiterentwicklung ist darin zu sehen, dass der Gesamtmengenstrom der Produkte 15, welcher der ersten Trommel 13 zugeführt wird, dadurch vervielfacht werden kann.In addition to the guide channel 11, the conveying device has two further guide channels 11, from which further products 15 are supplied from additional stores 2 in the same way and introduced into the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 via a control device 12. The first drum 13 can also be referred to as a removal drum, which does not remove the products 15 directly from the storage 2, but instead from the guide channels 11 provided in between. The advantage of this further development is that the total flow of products 15, which the first drum 13 is supplied, thereby can be multiplied.

In den Figuren 4 und 5 ist die erste Trommel 13 mit den drei Führungskanälen 11 und den daraus zugeführten Produkten 15 mit zwei verschiedenen Ausführungsformen der Steuereinrichtung 12 in einer vergrößerten Darstellung zu erkennen. In dem Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 4 ist die Steuereinrichtung 12 durch jeweils den Führungskanälen 11 zugeordnete Einlegeräder 81 gebildet. Die Einlegeräder 81 selbst können drehbar angetrieben ausgebildet sein und dienen der Separierung der Produkte 15 vor dem Einlegen in die Mulden 14 der ersten Trommel 13. Dadurch kann das Einlegen der Produkte 15 aus den verschiedenen Führungskanälen 11 vereinfacht und insbesondere gesteuert werden. Sofern die Einlegräder 81 aktiv angetrieben werden, ist es ferner möglich, das Einlegen der Produkte 15 aus den verschiedenen Führungskanälen 11 sowohl in den Zeitpunkten, in der Reihenfolge als auch in den Zeitintervallen zueinander zu steuern. Ferner kann die Befüllung der Mulden 14 dadurch bei einem Störungsfall in der Zuführung aus einem der Führungskanäle 11 soweit geändert werden, dass die Produkte 15 aus einem der Führungskanäle 11 nicht mehr und stattdessen nur noch aus den verbleibenden Führungskanälen 11 dafür aber in erhöhten Mengenströmen zugeführt werden. Dadurch kann der Betrieb der Fördereinrichtung auch in dem Fall einer Störung in der Zuführung soweit aufrechterhalten werden, dass die Mulden 14 der ersten Trommel 13 trotzdem vollständig mit Produkten 15 befüllt werden.In the Figures 4 and 5 the first drum 13 with the three guide channels 11 and the products 15 fed therefrom with two different embodiments of the control device 12 can be seen in an enlarged illustration. In the embodiment of Figure 4 the control device 12 is formed by insert wheels 81 assigned to the guide channels 11 in each case. The insertion wheels 81 themselves can be designed to be rotatably driven and serve to separate the products 15 before they are inserted into the troughs 14 of the first drum 13. This simplifies the insertion of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 and, in particular, controls it. If the loading wheels 81 are actively driven, it is also possible to control the loading of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 both in terms of the times, in the sequence and in the time intervals with respect to one another. Furthermore, in the event of a malfunction in the supply from one of the guide channels 11, the filling of the troughs 14 can be changed to such an extent that the products 15 are no longer supplied from one of the guide channels 11 and instead only from the remaining guide channels 11 but in increased flow rates . As a result, even in the event of a malfunction in the feed, the operation of the conveying device can be maintained to such an extent that the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 are nevertheless completely filled with products 15.

In dem Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 5 ist die Steuereinrichtung 12 durch einen Vielgelenkmechanismus 70 mit einem durch einen Exzenter 73 angetriebenen Gestänge 72 und jeweils den verschiedenen Führungskanälen 11 zugeordneten Einlegestempeln 71 gebildet. Die Zuführung der Produkte 15 aus den Führungskanälen 11 in die Mulden 14 der ersten Trommel 13 wird hier dadurch gesteuert, indem die der ersten Trommel 13 zugewandten Öffnungen der Führungskanäle 11 durch die Bewegung der Einlegestempel 71 in einer Stellung geschlossen und in einer anderen Stellung geöffnet sind. Die rhythmische Bewegung der Einlegestempel 71 wird durch die Drehbewegung des Exzenters 73 ausgelöst und über das Gestänge 72 übertragen bzw. gesteuert. Da die Bewegung der Einlegestempel 71 hier durch einen einzigen Exzenter 73 angetrieben wird und über das Gestänge 72 gekoppelt ist, ist auch die Öffnung der Führungskanäle 11 und damit die Zuführung der Produkte 15 aus den verschiedenen Führungskanälen 11 zueinander gekoppelt, wobei durch die Auslegung des Gestänges 72 und der dadurch erzwungenen Öffnungs- und Schließbewegung der Einlegestempel 71 auch die Reihenfolge, der Zeitversatz sowie auch die Zeitfenster der Öffnungen der Führungskanäle 11 gesteuert werden können.In the embodiment of Figure 5 the control device 12 is formed by a multi-joint mechanism 70 with a linkage 72 driven by an eccentric 73 and insertion punches 71 assigned to each of the various guide channels 11. The feeding of the products 15 from the guide channels 11 into the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 is controlled here by opening the openings facing the first drum 13 Guide channels 11 are closed by the movement of the insertion die 71 in one position and open in another position. The rhythmic movement of the insertion punches 71 is triggered by the rotary movement of the eccentric 73 and is transmitted or controlled via the linkage 72. Since the movement of the insertion die 71 is driven here by a single eccentric 73 and is coupled via the linkage 72, the opening of the guide channels 11 and thus the supply of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 are also coupled to one another, whereby due to the design of the linkage 72 and the thereby forced opening and closing movement of the insertion stamp 71, the sequence, the time offset and also the time window of the openings of the guide channels 11 can be controlled.

Wie in der Figur 4 zu erkennen ist, sind die Mulden 14 der ersten Trommel 13 in drei Gruppen I, II und III unterteilt, welche jeweils in einem festen Rhythmus abwechselnd angeordnet sind. Die Mulden 14 der Gruppen I, II und III sind zur Befüllung mit Produkten 15 aus jeweils einem fest zugeordneten Führungskanal 11 vorgesehen. Die Mulden 14 der Gruppe III werden aus dem in der Darstellung der Figur 4 linken Führungskanal 11 mit Produkten 15 befüllt. Während des weiteren Umlaufes der ersten Trommel 13 werden die Mulden 14 der Gruppe II aus dem mittleren Führungskanal 11 und schließlich die Mulden 14 der Gruppe I aus dem in der Darstellung rechten Führungskanal 11 mit Produkten 15 befüllt. Die Mulden 14 der ersten Trommel 13 werden damit nach einem festen Rhythmus durch die Steuereinrichtung 12 befüllt, wodurch eine Kollision der Produkte 15 beim Einlegen in die Mulden 14 verhindert werden kann. Ferner kann durch die gesteuerte, rhythmische Befüllung der Mulden 14 verhindert werden, dass die Mulden 14 nicht mit Produkten 15 befüllt werden und leer weiterlaufen. Sofern die Förderkapazität weiter erhöht werden soll, können die Anzahl der Mulden 14 erhöht und weitere Speicher 2 mit zugeordneten Führungskanälen 11 vorgesehen werden.Like in the Figure 4 can be seen, the troughs 14 of the first drum 13 are divided into three groups I, II and III, which are each arranged alternately in a fixed rhythm. The troughs 14 of groups I, II and III are provided for filling with products 15 from a permanently assigned guide channel 11 each. The troughs 14 of group III are filled with products 15 from the guide channel 11 on the left in the illustration in FIG. During the further rotation of the first drum 13, the troughs 14 of group II from the central guide channel 11 and finally the troughs 14 of group I from the guide channel 11 on the right in the illustration are filled with products 15. The troughs 14 of the first drum 13 are thus filled by the control device 12 according to a fixed rhythm, whereby a collision of the products 15 when they are placed in the troughs 14 can be prevented. Furthermore, the controlled, rhythmic filling of the troughs 14 can prevent the troughs 14 from not being filled with products 15 and from continuing to run empty. Provided the conveying capacity is to be increased further, the number of troughs 14 can be increased and further storage 2 with associated guide channels 11 can be provided.

Die Mulden 14 der Gruppen I, II und III sind wechselweise in einem festen Rhythmus angeordnet, d. h. bei einer gemäß der Pfeilrichtung in der Figur 4 rechtsdrehenden Trommel 13 folgt auf eine Mulde 14 der Gruppe III folgt immer eine Mulde 14 der Gruppe II und auf diese folgt immer eine Mulde 14 der Gruppe I bis der Rhythmus mit einer Mulde 14 der Gruppe III wiederholt wird. Die erste Trommel 13 weist dabei eine identische Anzahl von Mulden 14 der jeweiligen Gruppen I, II und III auf. Ferner ist die Zuführgeschwindigkeit der Mengenströme der Produkte 15 aus den verschiedenen Führungskanälen 11 identisch, wobei die Mengenströme der Produkte 15 der Anzahl der Mulden 14 der Gruppen I, II oder III je Umdrehung der ersten Trommel 13 entsprechen.The troughs 14 of groups I, II and III are arranged alternately in a fixed rhythm, ie in one according to the direction of the arrow in FIG Figure 4 clockwise rotating drum 13 follows a trough 14 of group III is always followed by a trough 14 of group II and this is always followed by a trough 14 of group I until the rhythm is repeated with a trough 14 of group III. The first drum 13 has an identical number of troughs 14 of the respective groups I, II and III. Furthermore, the feed speed of the mass flows of the products 15 from the various guide channels 11 is identical, the mass flows of the products 15 corresponding to the number of troughs 14 of groups I, II or III per revolution of the first drum 13.

In den Figuren 6 bis 9 ist die Schneideinrichtung 17 in verschiedenen Ausführungsformen vergrößert zu erkennen. Die Schneideinrichtung 17 umfasst jeweils zwei Schneidmesser 43, welche in den Figuren 6 bis 8 als Rundmesser und in der Figur 9 als Schneidmesser 43 mit linearen Schnittkanten ausgebildet sind.In the Figures 6 to 9 the cutting device 17 can be seen enlarged in various embodiments. The cutting device 17 comprises two cutting knives 43, which are in the Figures 6 to 8 as a circular knife and in the Figure 9 are designed as cutting blades 43 with linear cutting edges.

Die Bänder 41 und 44 ragen jeweils mit einem parallel zu der Transportrichtung der Produkte 15 ausgerichteten Führungsabschnitten in den Führungskanal 11 und bilden dadurch seitlichen Anlageflächen für die in dem Führungskanal 11 geführten Produkte 15. Die Schneidmesser 43 ragen ebenfalls mit ihren Schnittkanten in die Führungskanäle 11 und zwar in einer zu der Transportrichtung der Produkte 15 parallelen bzw. zu den Längsachsen der Produkte 15 senkrechten Ausrichtung. Die Schneidmesser 43 ragen dabei soweit in den Führungskanal 11, dass sie sich bis wenigstens zur Hälfte des Durchmessers der darin befindlichen Produkte 15 erstrecken.The belts 41 and 44 each protrude into the guide channel 11 with a guide section aligned parallel to the transport direction of the products 15 and thereby form lateral contact surfaces for the products 15 guided in the guide channel 11. The cutting blades 43 also protrude with their cutting edges into the guide channels 11 and 11 although in an orientation parallel to the transport direction of the products 15 or perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the products 15. The cutting knives 43 protrude so far into the guide channel 11 so that they extend to at least half the diameter of the products 15 located therein.

In dem Ausführungsbeispiel der Figur 6 sind zwei Schneidmesser 43 in Form von drehenden oder stehenden Rundmessern und ein gegenüber den Schneidmessern 43 angeordnetes Band 41 vorgesehen. Die Rundmesser können dabei drehbar gelagert sein, oder auch über eine Antriebseinrichtung aktiv zu einer Drehbewegung antreibbar sein. In beiden Fällen erfolgt die Schnittbewegung durch eine Abrollbewegung der Schneidmesser 43 gegenüber den Produkten 15 mit einer sehr geringen Belastung der Produkte 15 während des Schnittvorganges. Das Band 41 ist durch ein flexibles Gewebeband oder auch durch ein in sich elastisches Elastomerband gebildet und kann dadurch seitlich geringfügig nachgeben, so dass es sich der Kontur der Produkte 15 anpassen kann. Das Band 41 ist um zwei Rollen gespannt und kann durch eine nicht zu erkennende Antriebseinrichtung zu einem Endlostrieb angetrieben werden. Ferner weist das Band 41 eine reibungserhöhende Oberflächenbeschaffenheit auf, so dass es einen höheren Reibungskoeffizienten als die verbleibenden inneren Wandungen des Führungskanals 11 aufweist.In the embodiment of Figure 6 two cutting knives 43 in the form of rotating or stationary circular knives and a band 41 arranged opposite the cutting knives 43 are provided. The circular knives can be rotatably mounted, or they can also be actively driven to make a rotary movement via a drive device. In both cases, the cutting movement takes place by a rolling movement of the cutting knives 43 in relation to the products 15 with a very low load on the products 15 during the cutting process. The band 41 is formed by a flexible fabric band or also by an inherently elastic elastomer band and can thus give slightly laterally so that it can adapt to the contour of the products 15. The belt 41 is stretched around two rollers and can be driven to form an endless drive by an undetectable drive device. Furthermore, the belt 41 has a surface quality that increases friction, so that it has a higher coefficient of friction than the remaining inner walls of the guide channel 11.

Die Produkte 15 gelangen beim Durchlauf durch den Führungskanal 11 seitlich zur Anlage an dem Band 41 und werden dadurch für den Fall eines nicht angetriebenen Bandes 41 gebremst. Für den Fall eines angetriebenen Bandes 41 können die Produkte bei einer Antriebsrichtung entgegen der Transportrichtung der Produkte 15 auch noch stärker gebremst oder bei einer Antriebsbewegung in Richtung der Transportrichtung auch beschleunigt werden. Die Definition der Bewegung des Bandes 41 bezieht sich dabei immer auf den in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragenden Führungsabschnitt. Wichtig ist für die Schnittbewegung, dass das Band 41 eine Relativbewegung zu der Transportbewegung der zugeführten Produkte 15 ausführt, so dass die Produkte 15 zu einer Drehbewegung um ihre Längsachsen angetrieben werden und dadurch gegenüber den drehenden oder stehenden Schneidmessern 43 abrollen und dabei vollständig über ihren Umfang geschnitten werden. Sofern die Schneidmesser 43 aktiv über eine Antriebseinrichtung zu einer Drehbewegung antreibbar sind, kann die Drehrichtung der Schneidmesser 43 bewusst entgegen der durch das Band 41 erzwungenen Relativdrehbewegung der Produkte 15 gerichtet sein, wodurch die Schnittgeschwindigkeit weiter erhöht werden kann. Die Länge des in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragenden Führungsabschnittes des Bandes 41 und die Relativgeschwindigkeit des Führungsabschnittes sind dabei so gewählt, dass die Produkte 15 während des Passierens der Schneidmesser 43 mindestens einmal um ihre Längsachse drehen d.h. zu einer vollen Umdrehung gegenüber den Schneidmessern 43 angetrieben werden. Damit werden die Produkte 15 in einem qualitativ sehr hochwertigen Schnittvorgang mit einem gegenüber den Schnittkanten der Schneidmesser 43 abrollenden Produkt 15 verwirklicht, wobei der besondere Vorteil des Schnittvorganges neben dem Abrollvorgang zusätzlich darin besteht, dass die Schnittkante dabei immer nur bis knapp über die Hälfte des Querschnittes in das Produkt 15 eindringt. Damit wird das Produkt 15 während des Schnittvorganges erheblich geringer belastet als bei einem Schnitt mit einer über den gesamten Querschnitt schneidenden Schnittkante, wie dies bei herkömmlichen Schnittvorgängen mit nicht um ihre Längsachsen drehenden Produkten 15 der Fall ist. Das Band 41 ist dabei so ausgelegt, dass es mit dem in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragenden Führungsabschnitt in einem definierten Abstand zu den Schnittkanten der Schneidmesser 43 angeordnet ist, so dass die daran drehenden Produkte 15 gegen die Schnittkanten gedrängt werden und während des Schnittvorganges in dem Band 41 ein Widerlager finden. Für den Fall, dass die Schnittkräfte während des Schnittvorganges sprungartig ansteigen, bietet die erfindungsgemäße Lösung überdies den Vorteil, dass die Produkte aufgrund der Flexibilität des Bandes 41 ausweichen können und die Schnittkräfte dadurch gesenkt werden können.As they pass through the guide channel 11, the products 15 come to rest laterally on the belt 41 and are thereby braked in the event that the belt 41 is not driven. In the case of a driven belt 41, the products can also be braked even more strongly in the case of a drive direction opposite to the transport direction of the products 15 or can also be accelerated in the case of a drive movement in the direction of the transport direction. The definition of the movement of the belt 41 always relates to the guide section protruding into the guide channel 11. It is important for the cutting movement that the band 41 can move relative to one another carries out the transport movement of the supplied products 15, so that the products 15 are driven to a rotary movement about their longitudinal axes and thereby roll against the rotating or stationary cutting knives 43 and are completely cut over their circumference. If the cutting knives 43 can be actively driven to a rotary movement via a drive device, the direction of rotation of the cutting knives 43 can deliberately be directed against the relative rotary movement of the products 15 forced by the belt 41, whereby the cutting speed can be increased further. The length of the guide section of the belt 41 protruding into the guide channel 11 and the relative speed of the guide section are selected so that the products 15 rotate at least once about their longitudinal axis while passing the cutting knives 43, i.e. are driven to one full revolution with respect to the cutting knives 43. In this way, the products 15 are produced in a very high quality cutting process with a product 15 that rolls over the cutting edges of the cutting knives 43, the particular advantage of the cutting process, in addition to the rolling process, being that the cutting edge is always just over half the cross-section penetrates the product 15. The product 15 is thus significantly less stressed during the cutting process than in the case of a cut with a cutting edge that cuts over the entire cross-section, as is the case with conventional cutting processes with products 15 that do not rotate about their longitudinal axes. The belt 41 is designed in such a way that it is arranged with the guide section protruding into the guide channel 11 at a defined distance from the cutting edges of the cutting knives 43, so that the products 15 rotating on it are pushed against the cutting edges and in the belt during the cutting process 41 find an abutment. For in the event that the cutting forces increase abruptly during the cutting process, the solution according to the invention also offers the advantage that the products can evade due to the flexibility of the band 41 and the cutting forces can be reduced as a result.

In der Figur 7 ist eine Schneideinrichtung 17 zu erkennen, bei welcher neben den, den Schneidmessern 43 gegenüberliegenden Bändern 41 zusätzlich auf der Seite der Schneidmesser 43 weitere Bänder 44 vorgesehen sind, welche in gleicher Art und Weise mit jeweils einem Führungsabschnitt parallel zu der Transportrichtung ausgerichtet sind und mit diesem Führungsabschnitt in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragen. Die Produkte 15 werden damit in dem Bereich der Schneideinrichtung 17 seitlich ausschließlich über die Bänder 41 und 44 geführt und zu der Drehbewegung abgetrieben. Wie in der Figur 7 deutlich zu erkennen ist, umfassen die Bänder 41 und 44 jeweils mehrere einzelne, beabstandete Stränge und liegen damit streifenförmig an den Produkten 15 an. Dies hat einerseits den Vorteil, dass die Schneidmesser 43 zwischen den Bänder 44 hindurch in den Führungskanal 11 hineinragen können und die Produkte 15 beidseitig der Schnittkanten der Schneidmesser 43 durch die Bänder 41 und 44 geführt sind. Außerdem werden die Produkte 15 durch die streifenförmige Führung über eine geringere Oberfläche und damit insgesamt über eine geringere Anpresskraft geführt. Ferner werden die kürzeren Produkte 15 einfacher Länge nach dem Schneiden verbessert geführt. Wie auch in der Figur 8 zu erkennen ist, sind die beiden Schneidmesser 43 in Längsrichtung der Produkte 15 also quer zu der Transportrichtung der Produkte 15 in einem Abstand zueinander angeordnet, so dass die Produkte 15 in drei einzelne Produkte 15 mit einer entsprechend kürzeren Länge geschnitten werden. Die Länge der geschnittenen Produkte 15 kann dabei durch den Abstand der Schneidmesser 43 zueinander und den Abstand der Schneidmesser 43 zu den Stirnseiten der zugeführten Produkten 15 in Längsrichtung der Produkte 15 definiert werden.In the Figure 7 A cutting device 17 can be seen in which, in addition to the belts 41 opposite the cutting knives 43, further belts 44 are also provided on the side of the cutting knives 43, which are aligned in the same way with a guide section each parallel to the transport direction and with it Guide section protrude into the guide channel 11. The products 15 are thus guided laterally in the region of the cutting device 17 exclusively over the belts 41 and 44 and driven off to the rotary movement. Like in the Figure 7 As can be clearly seen, the bands 41 and 44 each comprise a plurality of individual, spaced-apart strands and thus lie against the products 15 in the form of strips. This has the advantage, on the one hand, that the cutting knives 43 can protrude between the belts 44 into the guide channel 11 and the products 15 are guided through the belts 41 and 44 on both sides of the cutting edges of the cutting knives 43. In addition, the strip-shaped guide guides the products 15 over a smaller surface area and thus, overall, over a lower contact pressure. Furthermore, the shorter products 15 with a single length are guided in an improved manner after cutting. As in the Figure 8 As can be seen, the two cutting knives 43 are arranged at a distance from one another in the longitudinal direction of the products 15, that is, transversely to the transport direction of the products 15, so that the products 15 are cut into three individual products 15 with a correspondingly shorter length. The length of the cut products 15 can can be defined by the distance between the cutting knives 43 and the distance between the cutting knives 43 and the end faces of the supplied products 15 in the longitudinal direction of the products 15.

Es ergibt sich für den Fachmann von selbst, dass sowohl die Qualitätsüberprüfung durch die dem Führungskanal 11 zugeordnete Sensoreinrichtung 5 in Verbindung mit der Auswurfeinrichtung 6 als auch die beschriebene dem Führungskanal 11 zugeordnete Schneideinrichtung 17 und schließlich die Zuführung der Produkte 15 über die verschiedenen Führungskanäle 11 mit der zugeordneten Steuereinrichtung 12 die beschriebene Fördereinrichtung unabhängig voneinander weiterentwickeln.For the person skilled in the art it is obvious that both the quality check by the sensor device 5 assigned to the guide channel 11 in connection with the ejection device 6 as well as the described cutting device 17 assigned to the guide channel 11 and finally the feeding of the products 15 via the various guide channels 11 of the assigned control device 12 further develop the described conveying device independently of one another.

Ferner können der Schnittvorgang, die daraus resultierende Schnittqualität und schließlich Maßgenauigkeit der geschnittenen Produkte 15 hinsichtlich ihrer Länge weiter durch eine Feintaumelung der Produkte 15 an ihren Stirnseiten vor dem Schnittvorgang verbessert werden, durch welche die Produkte 15 hinsichtlich einer während des Schnittvorganges einzuhaltenden Soll-Lage innerhalb sehr enger Toleranzen ausgerichtet werden können.Furthermore, the cutting process, the resulting cutting quality and finally the dimensional accuracy of the cut products 15 in terms of their length can be further improved by a fine tumbling of the products 15 on their end faces before the cutting process, through which the products 15 with regard to a target position to be maintained during the cutting process within very tight tolerances can be aligned.

Claims (10)

  1. Conveying device for rod-shaped smoking articles (1) comprising
    - a store (2) in which the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) are stored in a stack so as to have longitudinal axes aligned in parallel with one another, and
    - a drum assembly having at least one first drum (13) that has troughs (14) which are open towards an outside and can be subjected to negative pressure in order to receive the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) which are fed from the store (2),
    - an ejection device (6) which is actuated according to a signal from the sensor device (5),
    - a guide channel (11) and a sensor device (5) being provided between the store (2) and the drum assembly,
    - the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) being guided, so as to have longitudinal axes aligned in parallel with one another, in the guide channel (11) in a single-row strip having a width corresponding to the length of the rod-shaped smoking articles (1),
    - the sensor device (5) being directed at the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) in the strip and detecting predetermined parameters of the rod-shaped smoking articles (1), characterised in that
    - the ejection device (6) is arranged downstream of the sensor device (5) with respect to the transport movement of the rod-shaped smoking articles (1), between the store (2) and the drum assembly, and
    - a rolling device (4) is provided which rotates the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) located in a detection region of the sensor device (5) about their longitudinal axes.
  2. Conveying device according to claim 1, characterised in that
    - the ejection device (6) is formed by a pneumatic blow-out device (16).
  3. Conveying device according to claim 1, characterised in that
    - the ejection device (6) is formed by a troughed drum (31) which has receptacles (32) which can be acted upon by negative or positive pressure,
    - it being possible to control the negative or positive pressure in the receptacles (32).
  4. Conveying device according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that
    - a cutting device (10) which cuts the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) is provided between the ejection device (6) and the drum assembly.
  5. Conveying device according to any of the preceding claims, characterised in that
    - a plurality of stores (2) are each provided with a guide channel (11) from which the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) are fed to the drum assembly.
  6. Conveying device according to claim 5, characterised in that
    - the order in which the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) are fed from the different guide channels (11) into the troughs (14) of the first drum (13) of the drum assembly takes place in a fixed, predetermined rhythm.
  7. Conveying device according to either claim 5 or claim 6, characterised in that
    - a control device (12) is provided which controls the feeding of the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) from the various feed channels (11) into the troughs (14) of the first drum (13).
  8. Conveying device according to any of claims 5 to 7, characterised in that
    - the troughs (14) of the first drum (13) are divided into different groups (I, II, III) which are associated with the feed channels (11).
  9. Conveying device according to claim 8, characterised in that
    - the troughs (14) of the different groups (I, II, III) are each arranged alternately one behind the other.
  10. Conveying device according to claim 7 and according to either claim 8 or claim 9, characterised in that
    - the control device (12) controls the feeding of the rod-shaped smoking articles (1) from each of the guide channels (11) into the troughs (14) with respect to the associated groups (I, II, III).
EP19163934.3A 2018-03-22 2019-03-20 Conveying device for rod-shaped tobacco articles Active EP3542649B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PL19163934T PL3542649T3 (en) 2018-03-22 2019-03-20 Conveying device for rod-shaped tobacco articles

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE102018106825.5A DE102018106825A1 (en) 2018-03-22 2018-03-22 Conveyor for rod-shaped smoking articles

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3542649A2 EP3542649A2 (en) 2019-09-25
EP3542649A3 EP3542649A3 (en) 2019-11-06
EP3542649B1 true EP3542649B1 (en) 2021-05-26

Family

ID=65910940

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19163934.3A Active EP3542649B1 (en) 2018-03-22 2019-03-20 Conveying device for rod-shaped tobacco articles

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3542649B1 (en)
CN (1) CN110292198B (en)
DE (1) DE102018106825A1 (en)
PL (1) PL3542649T3 (en)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT202000001870A1 (en) 2020-01-31 2021-07-31 Gd Spa Control unit and method of a group of smoking articles
IT202100028565A1 (en) * 2021-11-10 2023-05-10 Gd Spa UNIT AND METHOD OF OFF-LINE TRANSFER OF BAR-SHAPED ITEMS OF THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY

Family Cites Families (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2243911A1 (en) * 1972-09-07 1974-03-14 Hauni Werke Koerber & Co Kg DEVICE FOR FORMING MULTI-LAYERED BLOCKS OF A DEFINED NUMBER
IT1208082B (en) * 1982-08-04 1989-06-06 Sasib Spa DEVICE FOR THE QUALITY CONTROL OF THE CIGARETTES IN THE HOPE OF FEEDING OF THE PACKAGING MACHINES
DE3442462C1 (en) * 1984-11-22 1986-04-03 Maschinenfabrik Alfred Schmermund Gmbh & Co, 5820 Gevelsberg Device for feeding cigarettes to a packaging station
DE3812689A1 (en) * 1988-04-16 1989-11-02 Focke & Co DEVICE FOR CHECKING CIGARETTES
DE4033644C1 (en) * 1990-10-23 1992-04-30 Maschinenfabrik Alfred Schmermund Gmbh & Co, 5820 Gevelsberg, De Cigarette group forming machine - incorporates accumulator with outlet guide system
DE19546696C1 (en) * 1995-12-14 1997-01-23 Schmermund Maschf Alfred Device with guide channels to feed cigarettes to packaging machine
CN102030115A (en) * 2009-10-06 2011-04-27 焦胜利 Method and device for detecting and rejecting cigarette with defect before quantitatively outputting cigarette from channel
CN102431668B (en) * 2010-09-29 2013-12-25 中国科学院沈阳自动化研究所 On-line detection and rejection device for cigarette packaging machine to reject cigarette
CN102616402A (en) * 2011-01-26 2012-08-01 焦胜利 Pneumatic removing mechanism for defective cigarettes in lower cigarette passage of cigarette packet packaging machine
ITBO20130234A1 (en) 2013-05-21 2014-11-22 Gd Spa SUPPLY DEVICE FOR FILTER ROPES OF AN AUTOMATIC TOBACCO INDUSTRY MACHINE.

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CN110292198B (en) 2022-09-23
EP3542649A3 (en) 2019-11-06
DE102018106825A1 (en) 2019-09-26
PL3542649T3 (en) 2021-12-13
EP3542649A2 (en) 2019-09-25
CN110292198A (en) 2019-10-01

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