System for transferring and storing cigarettes
AssigneeG. D. Societa per Azioni
InventorEnzo Seragnoli
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compensating store device for cigarettes, between cigarette manufacturing machines and machines for packeting the cigarettes, wrapping the packets and making and wrapping packs of wrapped packets. The store device comprises a cylinder rotating about a vertical axis and having vertical, radial cigarette storage compartments, circumferentially distributed. A cigarette delivery channel at the top of this body feeds cigarettes to the compartments, and tilts so as not to loose its free and open, cigarette-feeding connections to the compartment in the rotating cylinder. Similarly, a cigarette-removing channel at the bottom of the cylinder is tiltably mounted. Between these channels, successive, horizontal rods, cantilevering from a support are moved into, downwardly along, and ultimately from each compartment.
Claims7
A plant having at least two cigarette manufacturing machines, one packaging machine, and a storage unit for compensating operating unbalances of the manufacturing and packaging machines, the storage unit comprising;
- a compensating storage cylinder having means for rotating it about a vertical axis and having vertically and radially extending cigarette-storing compartments distributed about the cylinder's circumference, each compartment having a top and a bottom and being dimensioned to permit cigarettes to be horizontally disposed in a cigarette pile one cigarette thick in the compartment between the top and the bottom;
- cigarette support means capable of actuation for enabling cigarettes in such a pile to be slidingly moved downwardly along the compartment;
- a conveyor system, including (a) a cigarette-feeding conveyor for feeding a stream of individual cigarettes from a cigarette-manufacturing machine to a fixed location at the top of the cylinder for discharge into the top of one of the compartments during a first type of operating unbalance between the manufacturing machine and a cigarette-packaging machine, and (b) a cigarette-withdrawing conveyor for withdrawing a stream of individual cigarettes from the bottom of one of the compartments to a fixed location at the bottom of the cylinder and further to the packaging machine during a second type of operating unbalance between the machines;
- means for selective actuation, in response to either type of unbalance, of the respective conveyor and of the cigarette support means;
- and
- transfer channel means for, selectively, delivering cigarettes from the feeding conveyor into the top of one of the compartments, and discharging cigarettes from the bottom of one of the compartments to the withdrawing conveyor, comprising two transfer channels, each tiltably mounted at one of said fixed locations and each having means for tilting it to provide a path for cigarettes smoothly sliding between the pile and the respective one of the conveyors, and to close said path.
A plant for producing cigarette packets, utilizing a system for directly feeding a stream of individual cigarettes disposed transversely of the stream from at least one manufacturing machine to a packeting machine, comprising;
- a compensating storage unit constituted by a cylindrical body provided with radially extending cigarette-storing compartments distributed about the body's circumference, said compensating storage unit having a storing construction for storing cigarettes in a succession of individual cigarettes transversally disposed, according to quantities of cigarettes constituting portions of a flowing cigarette stream;
- means controlled by cigarette manufacturing and packeting machines for rotating said cylindrical body about a vertical axis to cause a horizontal transition of said compartments, each radially extending cigarette-storing compartment being parallel to said vertical axis and having an open top and an open bottom and each compartment being dimensioned to permit cigarettes to be horizontally disposed in a cigarette pile one cigarette thick in the compartment between the top and the bottom;
- an upper infeeding channel and a lower withdrawing channel respectively positioned above and below said cylindrical body in areas thereof providing said open tops and open bottoms of said compartments, said upper and lower channels being generally vertically aligned one relative to the other;
- a movable device having uniformly spaced apart rigid cantilever rods and means for taking successive ones of said cantilever rods, disposed perpendicularly to said vertical axis of the cylindrical body, into one of the radially disposed cigarette-storing compartments which is generally vertically aligned with and between said upper infeeding and lower withdrawing channels;
- and
- intercepting means for stopping the flowing of the stream of individual cigarettes along said upper infeeding and lower withdrawing channels and relative to the open top and open bottom of said one cigarette-storing compartment in synchronism with the transition of the cigarette-storing compartments between said upper infeeding and lower withdrawing channels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.