Production and/or packaging installation, and method of operating the same
AssigneeFocke & Co. (GmbH & Co.)
InventorsHartmut Olbrich, Cord Schröder
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention specifies a production and/or packaging installation containing a performance-limiting means, and also specifies the method of operating the same, with the result that this installation can be sold to a purchaser with a certain performance capability guaranteed and only the guaranteed performance level can be retrieved, measures for reducing the performance level of the installation being taken or initiated in the event of manipulation for increasing the performance level or for bypassing the performance-limiting means.
Claims7
A production and/or packaging installation for producing or packaging cigarettes, having a number of production units, namely a maker (10), packer (11), film-wrapping machine (12) and a multipacker (13), each production unit or all the production units being assigned a sensor system (56) provided for picking up performance data, characterized by a performance-monitoring device (50), which is provided for scaling the production or packaging performance level which can be retrieved by the installation, with a performance-detecting device (51), a performance-specifying device (38), a comparator (52) and a performance-limiting device (53), it being the case that the performance-specifying device (53) is provided for producing a performance-related desired value (54) with reference to the performance level which is guaranteed to an operator of the production and/or packaging installation with respect to the production or packaging performance level that can be retrieved by the installation, that the performance-detecting device (51) is provided for receiving performance data (55) from the sensor system (56) and for producing a performance-related actual value (57) with reference to the performance data (55), that the comparator (52) is provided for comparing the performance-related actual value (57) and performance-related desired value (54) and, if the performance-related actual value (57) exceeds the performance-related desired value (54), for generating an activating signal (58) for the performance-limiting device (53), and that a performance-limiting device (53) is provided for reducing the performance level of individual production units or of all the production units.
A method of operating a production and/or packaging installation for producing or packaging cigarettes, having a number of production units, namely a maker (10), packer (11), film-wrapping machine (12) and a multipacker (13), each production unit or all the production units being assigned a sensor system (56) provided for picking up performance data, characterized in that a control means (30) assigned to a production unit obtains, from a performance-specifying device (38), a specified performance value which corresponds to a performance level which is guaranteed to an operator of the production and/or packaging installation with respect to the production or packaging performance level that can be retrieved by the installation, namely with respect to a number of non-defective (cigarette) packs —acceptable packs—, or with respect to a number of acceptable packs during a predetermined or predeterminable period of time (T), in that a drive (39) assigned to the production unit is activated in accordance with the specified performance value, in that a speed of the drive (39) is determined and compared with the specified performance value, and in that, in the case of a difference between the specified performance value and speed determined for the drive (39), predetermined measures are initiated by a performance-limiting device (53), in particular the drive (39) is switched off or the speed of the drive (39) is reduced.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.