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US 11,533,945 B2Granted
Method for producing smoking articles
AssigneeG.D Societa' Per Azioni
InventorsMarco Esposti, Ivan Eusepi, Massimo Sartoni
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for producing smoking articles, in particular cigarettes, each comprising a respective first tobacco rod portion; the method comprises the step of cutting a second rod portion, which is four times the length of the first rod portion, crosswise so as to obtain third rod portions, which are twice the length of the first rod portion; the third rod portions are offset and aligned so as to be fed in succession; the speed at which the third rod portions are conveyed before the offsetting procedure is smaller than the speed at which they are conveyed after the offsetting procedure.
Claims22
A method for producing smoking articles, each comprising a first rod portion;
- the method comprising:
- a first cutting step, during which second rod portions are formed by cutting at least one rod in a first cutting station;
- each second rod portion being a multiple in length of said first rod portion;
- a first conveying step, during which each of the second rod portions is conveyed crosswise and in succession from the first cutting station along a first portion of a given path to a second cutting station;
- a second cutting step, during which each second rod portion is cut crosswise into at least two third rod portions in the second cutting station;
- each third rod portion being a multiple in length of the first rod portion, wherein the at least two third rod portions are aligned longitudinally with respect to one another;
- a second conveying step including an offsetting step, during which each of the third rod portions is conveyed crosswise along a second portion of the given path from the second cutting station so as to arrive one at a time and in succession at an output station;
- wherein during the offsetting step the at least two third rod portions cut from the same second rod portion are moved from the longitudinal alignment crosswise and with respect to each other, so as to be taken out of longitudinal alignment with respect to each other, in an offsetting station located along the second path portion;
- each of the third rod portions when in longitudinal alignment is fed along the second path portion to the offsetting station at a slower speed than a speed at which each of the third rod portions after being arranged so as to be taken out of longitudinal alignment is fed along the second path portion directly from the offsetting station to a station immediately adjacent the offsetting station,
- wherein,
- during the first conveying step, each of the second rod portions is conveyed to the second cutting station by a first wheel, and
- during the second conveying step, each of the third rod portions is received directly from the first wheel by a second wheel at a first transfer location, the second wheel is located at the offsetting station and carries out the offsetting step,
- at least two third rod portions are received at a second transfer location one at a time in succession at the output station from the second wheel, and
- said at least two third rod portions are moved from the longitudinal alignment crosswise and with respect to each other, so as to be taken out of longitudinal alignment with respect to each other, during a majority of a movement from the first transfer location to the second transfer location and as said at least two third rod portions are on the second wheel.
11 more elements
A method for producing smoking articles, each comprising a first rod portion;
- the method comprising:
- cutting at least one rod in a first cutting station into second rod portions, each second portion being a multiple in length of the first rod portion;
- conveying the second rod portions from the first cutting station along a first portion of a transport path to a second cutting station by a first wheel;
- cutting at the second cutting station the second rod portions crosswise into at least two third rod portions, each third rod portion being a multiple in length of the first rod portion;
- conveying the at least two third rod portions along a second portion of the transport path from the second cutting station to so as to arrive one at a time and in succession at an output station, wherein each of the at least two third rod portions is received directly from the first wheel by a second wheel at a first transfer location, the second wheel being located at an offsetting station disposed along the second portion of the transport path between the second cutting station and the output station and the at least two third rod portions are received at a second transfer location one at a time in succession at the output station from the second wheel, and wherein:
- the second wheel comprises a plurality of pick-up assemblies, each pick-up assembly comprising two support arms, each supporting arm comprising a respective seat,
- when conveyed from the first wheel at the second cutting station to the second wheel at the offsetting station the at least two third rod portions are received by the pick-up assembly in the respective seat of the at least two support arms and aligned longitudinally;
- and
- the plurality of pick-up assemblies rotate around the second wheel after receiving the at least two third rod portions from the first wheel and upon rotation away from the first transfer location, the two support arms of each of the plurality of pick-up assemblies move apart from one another during a majority of the rotation from the first transfer location to the second transfer location, such that the at least two third rod portions are moved from the longitudinal alignment crosswise with respect to each other so as to be offset with respect to each other so as not to be aligned longitudinally;
- wherein each of the third rod portions is accelerated in the offsetting station such that each of the third rod portions is fed to the offsetting station at a slower speed than a speed at which each of the third rod portions is fed from the offsetting station to a station immediately adjacent to the offsetting station.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.