METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRODUCING CIGARETTE PACKS

• US 20110118098A1
• Filed: 04/21/2009
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Focke & Company
• Original Assignee: Focke & Company
• Inventors: Rohwedder, Wolfgang, Harms, Stefan, Rose, Sylvia
• Granted Patent: US 8,690,744 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 493/2
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 11/1013 responsive to flow or pressure of liquid or other fluent material B05C11/101 takes precedence; control of flow in general G05D7/00; control of fluid pressure in general G05D16/00
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 11/1028 Lift valves
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 11/1034 specially designed for conducting intermittent application of small quantities, e.g. drops, of coating material B05C5/0225, B05C11/1026 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 13/02 for particular articles
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 5/0212 only at particular parts of the articles at particular part of web, band, strip, belt or ribbon B05C5/025
• CPC Class Codes: B05C 5/0279 independently, e.g. individually, flow controlled
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/624 Applying glue on blanks
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 19/228 Preparing and feeding blanks
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 51/023 using applicator nozzles

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for producing packs, in particular cigarette packs, from blanks (11, 44), wherein individual regions of a pack blank (11) are adhesively bonded to one another and, if appropriate, to one or more separate blanks (44) by the pack blank (11) being provided with individual portions of glue (28, 29) by means of a valve or a group of valves (26) and blank regions which are to be adhesively bonded together subsequently being held or pressed on one another, wherein the individual portions of glue (28, 29) are applied to the blank regions by means of the glue valve (27) or the group of glue valves (26), and/or wherein a control and/or regulating device (65) automatically controls and/or regulates the size or quantity of the respectively produced portion of glue (28, 29), which size or quantity is produced by the at least one glue valve (27) during an individual valve opening cycle, as a function of at least one parameter.

Claims

1. A method for producing packs (10) from blanks (11, 44), comprising the steps of:

connecting individual regions of a pack blank (11) to one another and, if appropriate, to one or more separate blanks (44), wherein the pack blank (11) and/or the separate blank (44) are provided in regions with individual, spatially separated portions of glue (28, 29) by means of at least one glue valve (27);

subsequently holding or pressing the blank regions that are to be adhesively bonded together on one another; and

applying the individual, spatially separated portions of glue (28, 29) for adhesively bonding together the individual blank regions in a targeted manner in at least two different portion sizes or quantities of glue to the respective pack blank (11) and/or to the respective separate blank (44).

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pack blank (11) is in each case provided with individual portions of glue (28, 29) in regions of folding tabs (18, 19, 24, 25) that are to be adhesively bonded to one another, with larger portions of glue being provided in border regions of at least one folding tab (19, 25) than in further inward regions of said folding tab (19, 25).

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in order to connect the separate blank (44) to the pack blank (11), individual portions of glue (29c, 29d) are applied, which portions of glue are larger than the portions of glue (28) that are applied in border regions of at least one folding tab (19, 25).

22. An apparatus for producing packs of blanks (11, 44) by carrying out the method of claim 1, comprising:

a conveyor with which blanks (11) are conveyed along for application of glue at a glue valve (27) or at a plurality of glue valves (27) of a glue valve group (26); and

a control and/or regulating device (65) for controlling and/or regulating the glue valve (27) or the glue valve group (26),

wherein the control and/or regulating device (65) is designed in such a manner that the size or quantity of the respective portion of glue (28, 29), which size or quantity is produced by the at least one glue valve (27), is controlled and/or regulated automatically as a function of at least one parameter.

24. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pack (10) is a cigarette pack.

4. A method for producing packs from blanks (11, 44), comprising the steps of:

adhesively bonding individual regions of a pack blank (11) to one another and, if appropriate, to at least one separate blank (44) by providing the pack blank (11) with individual portions of glue (28, 29) by means of a glue valve (27) or a group of glue valves (26);

subsequently holding or pressing blank regions that are to be adhesively bonded together on one another;

applying the individual portions of glue (28, 29) to the blank regions by means of the glue valve (27) or the group of glue valves (26); and

automatically controlling and/or regulating the size or quantity of the respectively produced portion of glue (28, 29) by a control and/or regulating device (65), which size or quantity of the respectively produced portion of glue (28, 29) is produced by the glue valve (27) or the group of glue valves (26) during an individual valve opening cycle, as a function of at least one parameter.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein at least one measurement variable influencing the size or quantity of the portion of glue is measured continuously or at predetermined time intervals, and in that the glue valve (27) or the group of glue valves (26) is/are controlled/regulated as a function of the measurement result.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising measuring (a) the viscosity of the glue, (b) at least one measurement variable influencing the viscosity of the glue, (c) at least one measurement variable influenced by the viscosity of the glue, (d) the pressure under which the glue is supplied to the glue valve (27), and/or (e) characteristic variables which characterize movements of a closure element (49) of the glue valve (27), which closure element moves in the glue within the glue valve (27).

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising moving the closure element (49) of the glue valve (27) to and/or fro between a closed position preventing the outlet of glue from the valve (27) and an open position permitting the outlet of glue, with the period of time in which the closure element (49) is in the open position being controlled and/or regulated as a function of the measurement variable influencing the viscosity of the glue or influenced by the viscosity of the glue.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the closure element (49) is acted upon by a first, relatively large opening force that moves the closure element (49) from the closed position into the open position, and in that the closure element (49) is subsequently acted upon by a second holding force that is smaller than the first force and holds the closure element (49) in the open position.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein a period of time during which the closure element (49) is acted upon by the opening force is controlled and/or regulated as a function of the viscosity of the glue and/or as a function of the at least one measurement variable influencing the viscosity of the glue and/or as a function of the at least one measurement variable influenced by the viscosity of the glue.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the period of time that the closure element (49) requires in order to be moved from the closed position into the open position, opening time, is detected indirectly or directly, and in that the period of time of the application of the opening force is matched to the detected opening time.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein a solenoid (57) through which an electric current of certain strength, opening current, flows brings about the opening force that acts on the closure element (49) and moves the closure element (49) from the closed position into the open position, and in that subsequently an electric current of low strength, holding current, flows through the solenoid (57) in order to bring about the holding force acting on the closure element (49).

12. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the control and/or regulating device (65) evaluates measurement values of the measurement variable with reference to data that are stored in a data memory assigned to the control and/or regulating device (65).

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein a set of parameters associated with the pack (10) that is to be produced and/or with the blank (11) to be glued is stored in a selectable manner in a data memory (80) assigned to the control and/or regulating device (65), and in that, following selection of a set of parameters, the glue valve (27) or the group of glue valves (26) is controlled/regulated as a function of the selected set of parameters.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the set of parameters comprises data associated with different portion of glue sizes or portion of glue quantities, data associated with different blank variants, data associated with different machine speeds and/or data associated with different type of glue variants.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein data associated with at least one pattern of spots of glue to be applied to the blank are stored for each blank variant.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein data describing the drop size of each individual spot of glue of the pattern and/or times at which the glue valve or the respective glue valve (27) of the group of glue valves (26) is opened or closed are stored for each stored spot of glue pattern.

17. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the control and/or regulating device (65) calculates, with reference to the selected set of parameters, control parameters for controlling the glue valve, and/or in that the control and/or regulating device (65) reads, with reference to the selected set of parameters, control parameters of the glue valve from a memory assigned to the control and/or regulating device (65).

25. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the pack (10) is a cigarette pack.

18. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

21. (canceled)

23. (canceled)

26. (canceled)