US 4,274,317 AGranted

Method of monitoring a continuously advancing string material

AssigneeBaumgartner Papiers S.A.

InventorPhilippe Vulliens

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Abstract

A method of monitoring continuously advancing string material (1) of the kind comprising a continuous alternating succession of string sections, for example a cigarette filter string, of different material and/or structural configuration with regard to cutting the string (1) into identical plugs (7) for checking and correcting the position of each cut. Prior to being cut the string (1) is scanned by a sensor unit (4) which detects the beginning and end of each string section. A device associated with the cutting device (5) generates an output signal to indicate the moment when the string (1) is cut. Between this output signal and the moment at which the sensor unit (4) issues a signal corresponding to the end of the string section to be cut, a measured value is obtained which is independent of the feed into of the string (1) and which is proportioned to the length of the string section between the two signals. This measured value is then compared with a reference value and the operative stroke of the cutting device (5) is adjusted when a certain number of successive measured values deviate in the same direction from the reference value.

Claims24

Dependent claims

In a method of monitoring a continuously advancing string material of the kind comprising a continuous alternating succession of string sections of different material quality and/or structural configuration with regard to the cutting of said string into discrete plugs of identical type, each comprising at least two sections of different material quality and/or different structural configuration, for the purpose of checking and automatically correctively adjusting the spacing of a cut made by a severing device relative to an immediately succeeding different section,

comprising the steps of
scanning the continuously advancing string before cutting it by a sensor unit which responds to individual string sections of different material quality and/or structural configuration;
detecting the start as well as the end of each string section;
generating concurrently an output signal by a device associated with the severing device to indicate the point in time at which the string is cut;
obtaining, from the moment at which the output signal appears, to the moment at which the sensor unit issues a signal corresponding to detection of the end of the string section to be severed, a measured value which is independent of the rate of feed of the string, and which is proportional to the length of the string section between the two signals;
comparing the measured value with at least one predetermined reference value;
and
correctively adjusting the operative stroke of the severing device when a certain number of successive measured values deviate in the same direction from the predetermined reference value.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.