Transfer device for organized groups of smoking articles, apparatus and method to feed and form organized groups of smoking articles comprising said transfer device
AssigneeI.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatche S.P.A.
InventorFiorenzo Draghetti
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Transfer device configured to transfer smoking articles in a direction of transfer from a feed store to a transfer conveyor with pockets of an apparatus to feed and form organized groups of smoking articles. The transfer device includes a forming drawer comprising an upper wall and a bottom wall. The upper wall is disposed fixed in a position opposite the bottom wall and the bottom wall is configured automatically mobile with respect to the fixed upper wall between a closed position and an open position.
Claims13
A transfer device configured to transfer smoking articles in a direction of transfer from a feed store to a transfer conveyor with pockets of an apparatus to feed and form organized groups of smoking articles, said transfer device comprising a forming drawer comprising an upper wall and a bottom wall, wherein said upper wall is disposed fixed in a position opposite said bottom wall and said bottom wall is configured automatically mobile with respect to said fixed upper wall between a closed position, in which it closes the forming drawer at the lower part, defining a first condition of use of normal transfer of the smoking articles and an open position, in which it opens the forming drawer at the lower part, defining a second maintenance condition to allow the removal of smoking articles from said forming drawer;
- and
- wherein said forming drawer is provided internally with a passage channel for the transit of the smoking articles in said direction of transfer in the first condition of use, said passage channel being aligned to said direction of transfer both in the first condition of use, and in the second maintenance condition.
A transfer device configured to transfer smoking articles in a direction of transfer from a feed store to a transfer conveyor with pockets of an apparatus to feed and form organized groups of smoking articles, said transfer device comprising a forming drawer comprising an upper wall and a bottom wall, wherein said upper wall is disposed fixed in a position opposite said bottom wall and said bottom wall is configured automatically mobile with respect to said fixed upper wall between a closed position, in which it closes the forming drawer at the lower part, defining a first condition of use of normal transfer of the smoking articles and an open position, in which it opens the forming drawer at the lower part, defining a second maintenance condition to allow the removal of smoking articles from said forming drawer;
- and further including an apparatus to feed and form organized groups of smoking articles, comprising:
- a feed store to feed the smoking articles, and a transfer conveyor with pockets, and at least one thruster of smoking articles for feeding said smoking articles from said feed store to said transfer conveyor with pockets in a direction of transfer, through said at least one transfer device, wherein said at least one thruster is configured to be activated for a cleaning travel inside a passage channel of said forming drawer in said second maintenance condition, after the bottom wall has been opened.
A method to free, in the event of obstruction, stoppage or blockage, a forming drawer having an upper wall and a bottom wall, of a transfer device provided, in a first condition of use, to transfer smoking articles in a direction of transfer from a feed store to a transfer conveyor with pockets of an apparatus to feed and form organized groups of smoking articles, wherein said method provides to activate a second maintenance condition of said transfer device in which the upper wall of said forming drawer is kept in a fixed position and at least the bottom wall of said forming drawer is automatically opened to allow the removal of smoking articles from said forming drawer, wherein the smoking articles, in the first condition of use, move in said direction of transfer in a passage channel provided inside said forming drawer, wherein said passage channel is kept aligned to said direction of transfer both in the first condition of use and in the second maintenance condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.