Method and apparatus for feeding cigarettes or analogous articles to packing machines or the like

#The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manipulating rod-shaped smokers' products including plain or filter-tipped cigars, cigarillos or cigarettes as well as sections of simple or composite filter rods. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for manipulating rod-shaped articles which are temporarily stacked and confined in polygonal receptacles of the type known as chargers or trays and must be fed to a consuming station, for example, to a station accommodating one or more packing machines, one or more machines for pneumatically transporting cigarettes, filter stubs or the like to one or more filter tipping or packing machines and/or other types of consuming machines.

#It is well known to introduce the output of one or more producing machines, such as machines for the making of plain or filter cigarettes or machines for the making of simple or multiplex filter rod sections, into receptacles known as trays or charger s and to transport the receptacles to one or more consuming machines. If the articles are plain or filter tipped cigarettes or the like, the receptacles will normally transport such articles to one or more packing machines. If the articles are sections of filter rods, they are normally transported to one or more machines for the making of filter tipped smokers' products.

#Receptacles in the form of chargers or trays for stacks of confined rod-shaped articles are often utilized for transport of plain or filter cigarettes from one or more producing machines to one or more packing machines. A packing machine for cigarettes is normally provided with a hopper or a similar container for storage of a certain number of cigarettes which are withdrawn in the form of groups or blocks (e.g., blocks of twenty cigarettes each in the customary array including two outer layers of seven cigarettes each and a median layer of six cigarettes which are staggered with respect to the cigarettes of the outer layers). Furthermore, it is customary to provide for each packing machine a reservoir which supplies cigarettes to the hopper and serves to accommodate a major or main supply of cigarettes so as to insure that the packing machine need not be arrested in response to each (even short-lasting) stoppage of the associated producing machine or machines. In many instances, the transport of cigarettes from one or more producing machines to the reservoir for a packing machine is effected by a conveyor system which circulates filled and empty receptacles. Reference may be had to German printed publication No. 1,904,495 which describes an automatic transporting system for receptacles in the form of chargers or trays. A filled tray is delivered to an evacuating station and its reciprocable bottom wall is thereupon moved to an open position. A plunger or pusher applies by gravity a requisite pressure to the top layer of cigarettes in the tray so as to expel the stack of cigarettes from the interior of the tray into an intermediate magazine. The main purpose of the plunger is to equalize the top layer of cigarettes during evacuation from the tray. The thus emptied tray is then replaced with a filled tray and the same procedure is repeated. Conveyor belts are employed to transfer cigarettes from the intermediate magazine into the reservoir for the packing machine. The transfer of fresh stacks of cigarettes from filled trays into the intermediate magazine takes place at spaced intervals so that the lowermost layer of cigarettes in a filled tray which occupies the evacuating station is often located well above the top layer of cigarettes in the intermediate magazine. Consequently, the cigarettes which are being expelled from a filled tray must cover a considerable distance by moving under the action of gravity so that at least some cigarettes are likely to change their orientation and to clog the intermediate magazine and/or the reservoir for the packing machine. Improper orientation of a single cigarette often necessitates lengthy interruptions in the operation of a packing machine with attendant losses in output and contamination of the respective reservoir and/or packing machine.

#FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of an apparatus which embodies the invention and is used for the feeding of filter cigarettes to a packing machine;

#FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view as seen in the direction of arrows from the line II--II of FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view substantially as seen in the direction of arrows from the line III--III of FIG. 1; and

#Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 3, there is shown an apparatus 1 which is used to evacuate stacks of rod-shaped articles 6 which are confined in receptacles 2 in the form of so-called chargers or trays at an evacuating station A and to feed the thus evacuated articles to the hopper 4 or analogous storing means of a consuming machine located at a consuming or processing station B, e.g., a packing machine or a machine for pneumatically transporting filter stubs or analogous rod-shaped articles to one or more machines for the making of filter cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos. The articles 6 which are stored in receptacles 2 (hereinafter called trays for short) and in the hopper 4 of the consuming machine at the station B are assumed to be filter cigarettes (see particularly FIGS. 2 and 3); however, it is evident that the apparatus 1 is equally suited for manipulation of other rod-shaped articles, such as plain cigarettes, plain or filter cigars, plain or filter cigarillos, simple filter stubs, composite filter stubs and/or others. The illustrated hopper 4 is assumed to form part of a packing machine wherein the cigarettes 6 are arrayed to form blocks or groups which are thereupon introduced into envelopes and sealed prior to introduction into cartons or the like. Each envelope may comprise one or more layers, for example, an innermost layer of tinfoil, a median layer of paper, and an outermost layer of transparent synthetic plastic material which can be provided with a customary tear strip. The lower portion of the hopper 4 is formed with several parallel vertical ducts 4a into which the cigarettes 6 descend to form vertical rows and from which a pusher or a like transfer device expels blocks or groups of, for example, twenty cigarettes each.

#The apparatus 1 comprises a withdrawing or removing mechanism which serves to transfer the stack of cigarettes 6 which are confined in a filled tray 2 at the station A into an intermediate magazine 21 (hereinafter called magazine), and a transporting mechanism which serves to move batches of parallel cigarettes from the magazine 21 into a main magazine or reservoir 3 (hereinafter called reservoir) which communicates with the upper portion of the hopper 4.

#The tray 2 which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is one of a series of trays which are circulated along an endless path between one or more producing machines located at a producing station (such as one or more filter cigarette making machines of the type known as MAX and produced by Hauni-Werke, Korber & Co., K.G., of Hamburg-Bergedorf, Western Germany), and the evacuating station A which is located at a level above the magazine 21 and consuming station B. The conveyor system which circulates the trays 2 between the station A and the station accommodating one or more producing machines is not shown in the drawing. Reference may be had to the aforementioned German printed publication which discloses a suitable conveyor system for trays. The arrangement is preferably such that a freshly emptied tray 2 is automatically removed from the evacuating station A to be replaced with a filled tray so that a filled tray is always held in a position of readiness for transfer of its contents into the magazine 21. Each tray 2 has blocking means here shown as a slidable or otherwise movable bottom wall or gate 9 which can be moved between a closed or intercepting position in which it closes the lower end of the compartment in the respective tray and an open or extended position which is shown in FIG. 1 and in which the stack of cigarettes 6 can be evacuated by gravity from the compartment of the tray into the magazine 21. It is assumed that the tray 2 has a bottom wall 9 which is reciprocable between its open and closed positions.