Method and apparatus for customizing cigarette packages
AssigneeR.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
InventorsBrent Walker Carter, John Larkin Nelson, Rebecca Anne Rogers
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for customizing a cigarette package is provided, wherein the cigarette package is configured to receive a plurality of as-formed cigarettes therein. Such an apparatus comprises a feeder unit configured to feed one of a plurality of cigarette packages to a register position. An imprinting unit is configured to interact with the cigarette package in the register position so as to imprint at least one of an alphanumeric character and a graphical character thereon. An associated method is also provided.
Claims21
An apparatus for customizing an as-formed cigarette package configured to receive a plurality of as-formed cigarettes therein, the apparatus comprising:
- a feeder unit configured to serially feed a plurality of as-formed cigarette packages along a feed direction to a stationary register position on a support member adjacent to a conveyor device;
- and,
- an imprinting unit configured to interact with a single cigarette package in the stationary register position at a time so as to selectively and directly imprint at least one of an alphanumeric character and a graphical character thereon,
- wherein the feeder unit is further configured such that a second single, as-formed cigarette package fed by the feeder unit toward the stationary register position displaces a first single, as-formed cigarette package disposed in the stationary register position, following imprinting of the first single, as-formed cigarette package by the imprinting unit.
A method of customizing an as-formed cigarette package configured to receive a plurality of as-formed cigarettes therein, the method comprising:
- serially feeding a plurality of as-formed cigarette packages along a feed direction of a feeder unit to a stationary register position on a support member adjacent to a conveyor device,
- selectively and directly imprinting at least one of an alphanumeric character and a graphical character on a single, as-formed cigarette package in the stationary register position using an imprinting unit, and
- displacing a first single, as-formed cigarette package disposed in the stationary register position, following imprinting thereof by the imprinting unit, with a second single, as-formed cigarette package fed by the feeder unit toward the stationary register position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.