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Method of and apparatus for accumulating and manipulating arrays of cigarettes and the like

  • US 6,385,947 B2
  • Filed: 12/15/2000
  • Issued: 05/14/2002
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1999
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. Apparatus for supplying groups of commodities to a processing machine, comprising:

  • group building means having a plurality of assemblies each including a plurality of group forming units each arranged to gather a succession of groups;

    means for transporting groups from said units to the processing machine;

    the processing machine being a packing machine having at least two tracks spaced apart from each other by a first distance, said transporting means comprising a conveyor having a plurality of neighboring receptacles spaced apart from each other by identical second distances each of which at least approximates said first distance, each of said receptacles being arranged to accommodate a group of rod-shaped articles;

    said transporting means further comprises means for intermittently moving said conveyor by increments each having a length of m second distances, m being the number, of tracks in the packing machine, each group forming means gathering an entire group of rod-shaped articles and transferring the entire group into a receptacle while said conveyor is stopped at a position between incremental movements.

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