Transfer system for transferring items, which transfer system comprises a first transfer device for receiving the items, a second transfer device for discharging the items, and a buffer device for buffering items between the first transfer device and the second transfer device, wherein the first transfer device comprises a first transfer rotator and the second transfer device comprises a second transfer rotator and the transfer system is configured to adjust at least one of a first transfer speed of the first transfer rotator and a second transfer speed of the second transfer rotator.

Transport assembly of the smoking products manufacturing industry; the transport assembly comprises: a first conveying system for feeding components of the smoking products along a first conveying path to a first input station of a first manufacturing machine; and a second conveying system for conveying articles obtained from the components along a second conveying path from a first output station of the first machine to an input station of a second manufacturing machine (for example, a packaging machine); the first conveying system is configured to change the length of a stretch of the first conveying path; the second conveying system is configured to change the length of a stretch of the second conveying path; the mentioned stretches of the first path and of the second path are arranged overlapping one another and/or side by side.

A method for producing packs for cigarettes, in which at least one group of cigarettes is wrapped in an inner wrapper and is introduced into a pocket of a folding turret and therein is packed in a blank for the pack, and a corresponding apparatus and to a pack for cigarettes. At least one dimension of the at least one cigarette group does not correspond to the respective dimension of the interior space of the pack, the at least one deviating dimension is equalized by at least one filler piece, and the at least one filler piece is wrapped in the inner wrapper conjointly with at least one cigarette group.

An apparatus for manufacturing of multi-element rods of the tobacco industry comprising a feeding apparatus designed to feed rod-like elements, a transferring apparatus designed to transfer the rod-like elements or groups of the rod-like elements from the apparatus feeding the rod-like elements to the forming apparatus, comprising rotational elements provided with lugs and notches between the lugs, used to convey the rod-like elements, whereas the notches are adapted to receive and convey the individual rod-like elements or the groups of the rod-like elements, whereas the rotational elements are arranged and adapted to guide the rod-like elements successively through the rotational elements, the apparatus further comprises a forming apparatus, and a cutting apparatus.

A conveyor for aligning rod-shaped articles and including a succession of flutes which are movable along a feed path and which are configured to hold respective rod-shaped articles or groups of rod-shaped articles. For each flute, the conveyor has an abutment portion, disposed at least at one end of the flute to define an abutment surface for one end of the rod-shaped article or group of rod-shaped articles housed in the suction flute. The abutment portion is provided with at least one suction zone to hold the end of the rod-shaped article or group of rod-shaped articles by suction against the abutment portion. The suction zone is defined by a plurality of suction perforations, connected or connectable to a negative pressure source and whose transverse size is, for example, smaller than 1 mm, preferably smaller than 0.8 mm and, still more preferably, smaller than 0.6 mm.

The present invention relates to a reorienting device for reorienting simulated cigarette parts which are carried by a product carrier, wherein the device comprises: a main vertical rotation axis; a first cam track extending at least partially around the main vertical rotation axis; a rotary carrousel configured to rotate about the main vertical rotation axis, the rotary carrousel comprising: a rotary support frame, a plurality of reorienting units connected to the rotary support frame, each reorienting unit comprising an engagement member, wherein each engagement member is configured to engage the simulated cigarette part and to reorient it about a vertical product axis, a plurality of transmission mechanisms connected to the rotary support frame, each transmission mechanism being associated with a respective reorienting unit, each transmission mechanism comprising a cam which moves along the first cam track during the rotation of the rotary support frame.

A method of feeding rod-shaped consumer goods to a packing apparatus is provided, including providing a plurality of rod-shaped consumer goods to an upstream end of a stacking channel, and feeding the plurality of rod-shaped consumer goods along the stacking channel to a downstream end of the stacking channel. The upstream end of the stacking channel is higher than the downstream end in the vertical direction, and at least a portion of the stacking channel extends at an angle of between about 25 degrees and about 75 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. The method further includes receiving the plurality of rod-shaped consumer goods into a hopper from the downstream end of the stacking channel, and distributing the plurality of rod-shaped consumer goods from the hopper into a packing apparatus.

Filling apparatus (10) and method for automatically filling containers (100) for smoking articles with an incoherent material (M) of a smokable type. The apparatus (10) comprises delivery devices (22) comprising metering means (40, 41) configured to deliver a determinate quantity of incoherent material in each container (100). Each delivery device (22) comprises a funnel-shaped conveying member (52) which is configured to be made to vibrate during the delivery of the incoherent material (M) so as to prevent the incoherent material (M) which has been delivered by said metering means (40, 41) from accidentally remaining inside the conveying member (52).

A method and a feeding apparatus for feeding spacers for cigarette packs are disclosed, in which each spacer comprises a substantially rectangular flat body, the spacers being insertable in cartons for cigarette packs to space out packs with dimensions smaller than the standard dimensions; the spacers are stacked on a pallet that is positioned in a withdrawal station; the stacks of spacers are withdrawn from the withdrawal station and transferred to a respective hopper by passing each stack of spacers through an upper opening of the hopper, to then unload the spacers one by one through a lower opening of the hopper.

An apparatus for transporting objects, such as smoking articles or their components includes a plurality of transport members configured to each transport the objects along a working line from an initial position to a final position. A first guide parallel to the working line is configured to sequentially guide the transport members from the initial position to the final position, while a second guide, parallel to the first guide, is configured to sequentially guide the transport members from the final position to the initial position. Rotating displacement members are configured to selectively displace the transport members from one to the other of the two guides.