Packaging machine for cigarettes

• US 7,146,777 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2002
• Issued: 12/12/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Focke & Company
• Original Assignee: Focke & Company
• Inventors: Engel, Gisbert, Tempel, Jürgen
• Primary Examiner(s): Rada, Rinaldi I.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DESAI, HEMANT
• Application Number:
  US10/472,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20050164858A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: 53/52, 53/57, 53/58, 532/01, 532/34, 535/75
• US Class Current: 53/52
• CPC Class Codes: B31B 50/005 involving a particular layout of the machinery or relative arrangement of its subunits
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 19/223 in a curved path; in a combination of straight and curved paths, e.g. on rotary tables or other endless conveyors B65B19/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 59/04 Machines constructed with readily-detachable units or assemblies, e.g. to facilitate maintenance

Abstract

For the production of (cigarette) packs of different configurations, for example standard pack (13), round-edged pack (14) or octagonal pack (15), subassemblies and elements of the packaging machine are exchanged and/or uncoupled from the drive. For this purpose, a pack-specific operating element is provided with a drive which has a coupling and/or uncouplable gear-mechanism parts. These, in turn, are assigned operable handling elements which allow adjustment for coupling or uncoupling or removing sub-elements.

Claims

1. An apparatus for production of cigarette packs of the hinge-lid pack type from pack and lid blanks, each pack comprising a box part and a lid, each pack having front, rear and side faces delimited by upright pack edges, said apparatus comprising:

a) means for producing the packs whose said pack edges are right-angled, round or beveled, said means comprising a folding turret having a plurality of shaping pockets in which the blanks are folded around the pack contents during the production of the cigarette packs, said folding turret having stationary, immovable shaping elements, and shaping subassemblies with displaceable rounding tools, said folding turret being arranged in respective configurations corresponding to a cross-sectional design of the pack edges;

b) means to withdraw said displaceable rounding tools in an inoperative position when said displaceable rounding tools do not correspond to the type of pack to be produced;

c) means to interchange said folding turret having said shaping pockets with a second folding turret having a plurality of shaping pockets correspond to a type of pack to be produced and with a respective shape of the pack edges,

d) wherein the interchangeable folding turrets are provided with first sensor, and the shaping subassemblies are provided with a second sensor, said first and second sensors having scanning means to scan and to produce scanned data,

e) central control means, connected to the first and second sensors for checking the scanned data of the folding turrets that are to be exchanged with respect to correct allocation thereof;

means for generating an error signal on an occurrence of an incorrect said allocation, the central control means checking the scanned data of the second sensor of the shaping subassemblies for the purpose of checking the position of the rounding tools corresponding to the type of pack to be produced in each case; and

means for generating an error signal on an occurrence of an incorrect said position of the rounding tools corresponding to the type of pack to be produced.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the following features:

a) said central control means displays changes to be executed for the intended changeover to the type of pack to be produced, and

b) said central control means generates a signal after the changes to the folding turrets and shaping subassemblies have been completely and correctly executed.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the rounding tools, including the gear mechanism assigned to the rounding tools, are uncoupled from a drive in order to deactivate corresponding rounding tools.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by the following features:

a) the gear mechanism for executing the movement of the rounding tools is assigned a further intermediate gear mechanism or a preliminary gear mechanism, which in each case is connected to the drive, and

b) means for uncoupling the drive for the rounding tools in a region of the intermediate gear mechanism or of the preliminary gear mechanism.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, characterized by the following features:

a) a drive shaft or actuating shaft is connected to a driven actuating means via a coupling which is actuated from the outside, and

b) means for releasing the actuated coupling to uncouple the driven actuating means from the drive.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, characterized by the following features:

a) the actuating means is mounted on an actuating shaft by means of an adjustable mount or sleeve, and

b) the coupling is actuated by axial displacement of the sleeve.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, characterized by the following features:

a) the sleeve is displaced by an adjusting wheel which can be operated from the outside,

b) first coupling part of said coupling is connected to the sleeve, and

c) a second coupling part associated with the coupling is connected to the actuating shaft.

8. The apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that in order to uncouple a shaping subassembly or rounding tool from the drive, an intermediate wheel, designed as a gearwheel and being driven, is disengaged from adjoining gearwheels, namely disengaged from a gearwheel assigned to the gear mechanism, by axial displacement.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that said intermediate wheel is adjustable in the axial direction by an actuating element, which is operable from the outside.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the following features:

a) a shaping subassembly, for preparing blanks or a continuous material web for the production of said blanks has scoring rollers for applying continuous scoring by means of embossing, in a region of the rounded edges of a round-edged pack, and

b) the scoring rollers are arranged on a rotary shaft or spindle,

c) during a changeover for the type of pack to be produced, namely one without scoring, means for removing the shaft or spindle, bearing the scoring rollers, from the shaping subassembly.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, characterized by the following features:

a) the spindles bearing the scoring rollers have a decouplable spindle component,

b) the spindle components are mounted by conical coupling ends in correspondingly configured recesses of rotary carrying components which are mounted in a stationary manner.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the folding turrets which are to be exchanged, or the rounding tools which are lockable in said starting, inoperative position, have elevations or thickened portions, each of which is arranged adjacent to one or more initiators, and wherein the first sensor is activated in a first position, and the second sensor is activated in a second position.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one rotary element of a drive is fixable in a withdrawn, inoperative position of a rounding tool by means of a fixing pin which enters an opening of the rotary element—

intermediate wheel.