Apparatus for pushing together rod-like articles of tobacco industry

Abstract

The subject of the application is an apparatus (1) for pushing together rod-like articles (A, B, C, D, E) of the tobacco industry, comprising a rotary drum conveyor (2), provided with grooves (3) situated on the circumferential surface (4), wherein the axes (m) of the grooves (3) are positioned parallel to the rotation axis (k) of the drum conveyor (2), and pressing means (5, 5, 5), wherein the grooves (3) are arranged to transport rod-like articles (A, B, C, D, E), whereas the pressing means (5, 5, 5) is arranged to press on the front surface (A1, D1, E1) of the outermost rod-like article (A, D, E) during the rotary motion of the drum conveyor (2) and occupies a retracted position (P1), in which the pressing points (R) of the pressing means (5, 5, 5) do not come into contact with the outermost rod-like articles (A, D, E) and a pushed together position (P2), in which the pressing points (R) come into contact with the outermost rod-like articles (A, D, E), characterized in that the pressing points (R) of the pressing means (5, 5, 5) are spaced apart at a distance less than the length (W) of the groove (3) of the drum conveyor (2) both in the retracted position (P1) and in the pushed together position (P2) and remain within the length (W) of the groove (3).

Claims

1. An apparatus (1) for pushing together rod-like articles (A, B, C, D, E) of the tobacco industry, comprising a rotary drum conveyor (2), provided with grooves (3) located on the circumferential surface (4), wherein the axes (m) of the grooves (3) are positioned parallel to the rotation axis (k) of the drum conveyor (2), and pressing means (5, 5, 5), wherein the grooves (3) are arranged to transport rod-like articles (A, B, C, D, E), whereas the pressing means (5, 5, 5) is arranged to press on the front surface (A1, D1, E1) of the outermost rod-like article (A, D, E) during the rotary motion of the drum conveyor (2) and occupies a retracted position (P1), in which the pressing points (R) of the pressing means (5, 5, 5) do not come into contact with the outermost rod-like articles (A, D, E) and a pushed together position (P2), in which the pressing points (R) come into contact with the outermost rod-like articles (A, D, E), characterized in that the pressing points (R) of the pressing means (5, 5, 5) are spaced apart at a distance less than the length (W) of the groove (3) of the drum conveyor (2) both in the retracted position (P1) and in the pushed together position (P2) and remain within the length (W) of the groove (3).

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressing means (5, 5) includes rotary pressing rings (7, 11) mounted on elastic elements (8) and pressing rollers (9) acting on the pressing rings (7) so as to press the pressing rings (7, 11) towards the groove (3).

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the pressing rings (11) is provided with teeth (12), on which the pressing points (R) are located.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the pressing means (5) includes pushers (15) and rollers (16) moved by a cam (17), wherein the pushers (15) are arranged to rotate along with the drum conveyor (2).

Description

[0012] The subject of the invention is further presented in a favorable embodiment in the drawing, where:

[0013] FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 present the apparatus for pushing together rod-like articles in the first embodiment,

[0014] FIG. 4 presents the apparatus for pushing together rod-like articles in the second embodiment,

[0015] FIG. 5 presents the apparatus of FIG. 2 in an axial view,

[0016] FIG. 6 presents the apparatus for pushing together rod-like articles in the third embodiment.

[0017] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, an apparatus 1 for pushing together rod-like articles A, B, C includes a rotary drum conveyor 2, which is provided with grooves 3 located on the circumferential surface 4, and pressing means 5, wherein the pressing means 5 is arranged for moving the rod-like articles A, B, C transversely to the axes of the rod-like articles during their transport in the grooves 3 of the drum conveyor 2. The axes m of the grooves 3 are positioned parallel to the rotation axis k of the drum conveyor 2. The pressing means 5 is arranged to press the front surface A1 of the outermost rod-like article A. In the embodiments below, the group of rod-like articles includes articles A, B, C, B, A in sequence, which are typically pushed together before wrapping such a group in a segment of sheath material. The pushing together is effected symmetrically from both sides towards the article C.

[0018] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the pressing means 5 includes rings 7, located on both sides of the drum conveyor 2, which are mounted on elastic elements 8, wherein the apparatus 1 is provided with rollers 9, which press the rings 7 towards the drum conveyor 2. The pressing means is provided with pressing members 6, which are located on the rings 7. The pressing means 5 occupies a retracted position P1, in which the pressing points R of the pressing means 5 do not come into contact with the outermost rod-like articles A and occupies a pushed together position P2, in which the pressing points R come into contact with the outermost rod-like articles A.

[0019] In the retracted position P1 (the drawing shows a group of rod-like articles A, B, C drawn apart, i.e., gaps are maintained between the articles), the pressing points R of the pressing means 5 are spaced at a maximum distance, this is the retraction distance D, wherein the retraction distance D is less than the width W of the drum conveyor 2, which in this embodiment is equal to the length of the groove 3.

[0020] In the shown embodiments, the length of the groove 3 and the width of the conveyor 2 are equal, however, an embodiment is possible where the circumferential surface 4 and grooves 3 have a dimension greater than the body of the drum conveyor 2. In the pushed together position P2 (the drawing shows a group of pushed together rod-like articles A, B, C, i.e., there are no gaps between the articles), the pressing points R of the pressing means 5 are spaced at a minimal distance, this is the pressing distance d, where the pressing distance d is also less than the length of the groove 3 of the drum conveyor 2. The rod-like articles A, B, C are held in the groove by vacuum supplied through channels 10 reaching the bottom of the groove 3, which is cut off during pushing together, and the articles are held by a shield.

[0021] In FIG. 2, the apparatus is shown in the first embodiment for a group including rod-like articles D, E, B, C, B, E, D, with the outermost rod-like articles D being the shortest among the articles in the group. The pressing points R act on the front surfaces D1 of the articles D. In the pushed together position P2, the pressing points R are spaced apart at a distance d, similarly to that in FIG. 1.

[0022] In FIG. 3, the apparatus is shown in the first embodiment for a group including rod-like articles E, B, C, B, E, which has a total length shorter than the group of articles in FIG. 2. The width W of the drum conveyor 2 is the same as in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, therefore, longer pressing members 6 than members 6 are used for pushing the articles together. The pressing points R act on the front surfaces E1 of the articles E. In the pushed together position P2, the pressing points R are spaced apart at a distance d smaller than the distance d in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The drum conveyor 2 can be used for various groups of rod-like articles regardless of the length of individual articles and their position in the group.

[0023] In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the pressing means 5 includes rings 11, which similarly to the previous embodiment are pressed by rollers 9. The ring 11 is provided with teeth 12 and notches 13 (FIG. 5), with the pressing points R located on the teeth 12, which are partially inserted radially into the grooves 3. The rings 11, as in the previous embodiment, are mounted on elastic elements, whereas in this embodiment, the elastic elements are not shown. The rod-like articles A, B, C are guided and held in the grooves 3 by a guide 14 positioned above the circumferential surface 4 of the drum conveyor 2. The guide 14 may be in the form of a thin-walled cylindrical segment. Additionally, a vacuum may be applied to hold the articles in the grooves 3. The drum conveyor 2 rotates in direction T, and the rod-like articles A, B, C can be placed by a feeding conveyor in the grooves 3 at point E and received by a receiving conveyor at point F.

[0024] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the pressing means 5 includes pushers 15, which move along with the drum conveyor 2. The pusher 15 is provided with a roller 16, which cooperates with a drum cam 17, wherein the drum cam 17 is stationary. The pusher 15 is positioned in a guide 18. The pushers 15 and guides 18 are rotatably mounted on the axis k and move at the rotational speed of the drum conveyor 2, wherein the bearings of the pushers 15 and guides 18 are not shown. The pressing point R is located on the front surface 19 of the pusher 15. The pushing together of articles A, B, C, B, A is realized symmetrically as in the previous embodiments.