Machine and method for the automated production of straws
AssigneeI.M.A. Industria Macchine Automatiche S.P.A.
InventorFiorenzo Draghetti
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Machine (10) comprising a feed unit (16) configured to feed a plurality of tubular elements, preferably made of paper, toward different working units (18, 19, 20, 21) configured to automatically carry out different workings on the tubular elements (12), including a deformation to make a bellows (13), a cut to make a pointed end (14), or an end cut obliquely, a bending in correspondence with the bellows and a packaging of each straw, the deformation being carried out before the cut.
Claims18
A machine comprising at least one feed unit configured to automatically feed a plurality of tubular elements toward a plurality of working units to make straws, said one or more working units comprising:
- (i) a deformation unit configured to make at least one bellows on each of said tubular elements;
- and
- (ii) a cutting unit, configured to cut each of said tubular elements to make straws with bellows, wherein said deformation unit is disposed upstream of said cutting unit, with respect to an advancement direction of said tubular elements, so that said cutting unit cuts said tubular elements only after said deformation unit has made said bellows on said tubular elements, and wherein said cutting unit comprises both a cylindrical member rotating around an axis of rotation and provided with a plurality of gripping elements configured to temporarily hold said tubular elements, and a rotating circular blade configured to cut said tubular elements.
A method to produce straws comprising a feeding step in which a plurality of tubular elements are fed toward a plurality of working units configured to perform corresponding workings on each of said tubular elements, in order to make said straws, wherein said working units allow to carry out at least:
- a deformation step, during which at least one bellows is made on each of said tubular elements;
- and
- a cutting step, during which each of said tubular elements is cut to make said straws with bellows;
- wherein said deformation step to make said at least one bellows is carried out before said cutting step to make said straws with bellows, and
- wherein said cutting step has been carried out by a rotating circular blade, which cuts said plurality of tubular elements temporarily held by a plurality of gripping elements provided on a cylindrical member rotating around an axis of rotation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.