Method and machine for producing cartons of cigarettes
AssigneeG.D Societa' Per Azioni
InventorsSilvano Boriani, Antonio Gamberini
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and machine for producing cartons of cigarettes, each consisting of a number of packets of cigarettes housed inside a box formed from a flat blank divided by yield lines into a number of panels; the carton being formed by feeding the blank along a first path to a prefolding station where the blank is folded substantially in a U, and by transferring the prefolded blank to a loading station where a respective group of packets is fed inside the prefolded blank, and is pushed further, along a further path, so as to feed the blank and respective group of packets into a folding channel for closing the box.
Claims18
A method of producing cartons of cigarettes, each carton comprising at least one box formed from a flat blank divided by yield lines into an intermediate panel, and a first and second lateral panel on either side of the intermediate panel;
- the method comprising the steps of feeding in succession the flat blanks to a prefolding station;
- arresting each blank in the prefolding station with said intermediate panel facing an inlet of a folding cavity having a substantially U-shaped cross section;
- exerting a thrust on, in a first direction substantially perpendicular to, the intermediate panel and said inlet, so as to insert the blank inside the cavity and fold the two lateral panels in a U about the intermediate panel to form a prefolded blank;
- extracting the prefolded blank from the cavity via conveying means in a second direction substantially perpendicular to said first direction and parallel to said panels inside said cavity;
- feeding the prefolded blank by means of said conveying means along a given path to a loading station;
- and
- pairing each said blank in the loading station with a respective group of packets fed to the loading station via first supply means.
A machine for producing cartons of cigarettes, each comprising at least one box formed from a flat blank divided by yield lines into an intermediate panel, and a first and second lateral panel on either side of the intermediate panel;
- said machine comprising a loading station;
- first supply means for successively feeding groups of packets of cigarettes to the loading station, and pairing them with a respective blank
- a station for prefolding said blanks;
- conveying means for successively transferring the prefolded blanks to said loading station;
- said prefolding station comprising a folding cavity with a substantially U-shaped cross section extending along a longitudinal axis, the folding station comprising stop means for arresting each said flat blank with its intermediate panel facing the inlet of said cavity;
- and push means moving in a thrust direction perpendicular to said intermediate panel, for engaging the intermediate panel, and inserting the blank inside the cavity so as to fold the two lateral panels in a U about the intermediate panel to form a prefolded blank;
- said conveying means cooperating with said prefolding station, for extracting each prefolded blank from said cavity, and feeding it to said loading station, said extracting and feeding being along a given path in a feed direction substantially perpendicular to said thrust direction and parallel to said axis and said panels inside said cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.