US3693313A - Cigarette paper tube manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

In the manufacture of spills of cigarette paper for use in the manual making of filter cigarettes, apparatus is provided for initially forming a web of cigarette paper into a hollow tube. The formed tube is flattened and then cut in predetermined lengths to form spills to be used with a manual cigarette making machine. The web has a tipping part. A photocell arrangement is operable to sense the location of the tipping part in relation to the cutting of the tube to assure cutting along the center line of the tipping part as well as along a line centrally located between tipping parts. In order that there be proper registration of the tipping part in relationship to such cutting, the photocell arrangement is designed to adjust the speed of movement of a cutting knife. The cut spills are then picked up by a separating conveyor traveling at a higher speed to space the spills from one another. The spaced cut spills are then directed against a stop plate after having been deformed slightly by the separating conveyor to impart rigidity thereto. The spills are deposited on a collecting conveyor which transfers the spills substantially parallel to one another and in a direction substantially normal to the path of travel of the paper tube. A spacing gate cooperates with the collecting conveyor to collect the spills and then permits only a predetermined number thereof to pass therethrough to a spill bundling assembly. A banding assembly is designed to sever a length of banding material from a web. The severed band is then secured about the collected spills located at the bundling assembly. The banded bundle of spills are discharged and then placed in a kit designed to permit a cigarette smoker to manually make a filter tip cigarette.

Description

limited States alteitt Sexstone [54] CIGARETTE PAPER TUBE MANUFACTURE [72] Inventor: John H. Sexstone, Middletown, Ky.

[73] Assignee: Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Louisville, Ky.

[22] Filed: I July'29, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 59,052

[52] US. Cl. ..53/3, 53/23, 53/61,

53/123, 53/148, 53/198 R, 93/1 C, l31/2l B, 131/94 [51] Int. Cl. ..A24c 5/46,A24c 5/52,B65b 19/34 [58] Field of Search ..53/59, 61, 78, 123,148, 177, 53/198 R, 3, 23; 93/1 C, 77 FT, 82 131/21 R, 21 A-21 D, 63, 64, 94

Primary Examiner'l"heron E. Condon Assistant Examiner-Neil Abrams Attorneyl(ane, Dalsimer, Kane, Sullivan and Kurucz [57] ABSTRACT In the manufacture of spills of cigarette paper for use in the manual making of filter cigarettes, apparatus is [451 Se t. 26, 1972 provided for initially forming a web of cigarette paper into a hollow tube. The formed tube is flattened and then cut in predetermined lengths to form spills to be used with a manual cigarette making machine. The web has a tipping part. A photocell arrangement is operable to sense the location of the tipping part in relation to the cutting of the tube to assurecutting along the center line of the tipping part as well as along a line centrally located between tipping parts. in order that there be proper registration of the tipping part in relationship to such cutting, the photocell ar rangement is designed to adjust the speed of movement of a cutting knife. The cut spills are then picked up by a separating conveyor traveling at a higher speed to space the spills from one another. The spaced cut spills are then directed against a stop plate after having been deformed slightly by the separating conveyor to impart rigidity thereto. The spills are deposited on a collecting conveyor which transfers the spills substantially parallel to one another and in a direction substantially normal to the path of travel of the paper tube. A spacing gate cooperates with the collecting conveyor to collect the spills and then permits only a predetermined number thereof to pass therethrough to a spill bundling assembly. A banding assembly is designed to sever a length of banding material from a web. The severed band is then secured about the collected spills located at the bundling assembly. The banded bundle of spills are discharged and then placed in a kit designed to permit a cigarette smoker to manually make a filter tip cigarette.

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INVENTOR JOHN H- SE/YJTO/VE ATTOR NEYS PATENTED SE? 26 I972 SHEET lZUF 14 FIG. 2/

P 3 1 INVENTOR ua/m/ H. SEA/STONE ATTORNEYS PATENTED EPz I 1 3.6 93.313

SHEET 1 3 OF 14 BYa4 7 ATTORNEYS PNENYEDSEPZS m2 3, 93,313

sum 1n HF 14 FIG. 25A

INVENTOR JOHN SE/YSTO/VE ATTORNEYS a. CIGARETTE PAPER TUBE MANUFACTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application. relates to the manufacture of spills designed to be used in the manufacture of filter tip cigarettes by manual techniques of the type disclosed in U-.S. Pat. No. 3,491,768 granted Jan. 27, 1970. The

machine of that patentis designed to make a filter tip cigarette manually. by inserting a filter plug and a charge of tobacco simultaneously into a preformed tube. This tube includes atipping part which may assume the form of simulated cork at the filter tip end of the manually made cigarette. This preformed tube is commonly referred to as a spill in the trade. In accordance with accepted marketing practice, these spills are supplied tothe smoking consumer as part of a kit which'may include the filter plugs, a supply of tobacco, co, a manual cigarette making machine (as part of the initial purchase by the consumer), and a number of packages forthe manually made filter tip cigarettes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION posed thereon.

A further object is to automatically collect a predetermined number of the spills and, thereafter, bundle and band the spills for eventual placement in the kit-for manually making filter tip cigarettes.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed-description which is to be taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a. diagrammatic top plan view of the cigarette paper tube making machine;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the web of cigarette paper drawn to scale and showing the relative location of the cork tipping;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the several operations performed in handling cigarette paper in forming it into a tube which is eventually cut at preset locations and the cut spills bundled and banded for ultimate disposition;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the cigarette paper tube forming machine;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged elevational view of the photocell assembly for sensing the cork tipping of the web of cigarette paper viewed in the direction of the arrows 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view taken alongthe line 6-6 of this photocell assembly, shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the portion of cigarette paper web passing through the photocell assembly showing the manner in which the photocells sense the cork tipping;-

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevational view, viewed in the direction of the arrows 8-8 of FIG. 1, showing the pressure roller station at which the formed and sealed paper tube is flattened;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. .8;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG. 8 showing the compression of thepaper tube as it passes between the pressure roller;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of the ledger and station at which the flattened paper tube is cut at preset locations;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the ledger showing the flattened paper tube out along the central line of the tipping;

FIG. 13 is a similar plan view showing the cutting of the flattened tube intermediate the spaced tipping;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the drive of the flattened paper tube cutting knife;

FIG. 15 is a similar fragmentary perspective view of the drive taken from the flattened paper tube cutting knife for permitting the proper timing and sequencing of subsequent stations of the tube making machine;

FIG. 16 isan enlarged elevational view taken along the line 16-16 of FIG. 1 showing the manner in which the cut spills are separated;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view in the direction of the arrows 17-17 of FIG. 16 showing the spaced cut tubes and the manner in which they are then conveyed parallel to one another to the bundling station;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line'l8-l8 of FIG. 17;. 7

FIG; 19 is an elevational view taken along the line 19-19 of FIG. 1 showing the spacing gate designed to accumulate the desired number of spills to be eventually bundledand banded;

- FIG. 20 is a side elevational view taken along the line 20-20 of FIG. 19 showing the accumulation of spills at the spacing gate;

FIG. 21 is an enlarged elevational view partly in section showing the manner in which the accumulated spills are bundled and handed;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along the line 20- 20 of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken along the line 23- 23 of FIG. 21;

FIG. 24 is a schematic view showing an alternate embodiment of cigarette paper tube forming machine wherein the cork tipping is printed on the cigarette paper as it is introduced into the tube forming machine;

FIG. 24a is a plan view taken in the direction of thearrows 24a-24a of FIG. 24;

FIG. 25 is still another alternate embodiment wherein the cork tipping is supplied from a web of such material and cut into predetermined lengths and eventually pasted on the cigarette paper prior to introduction into the tube forming machine;

FIG. 25a is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 25fa-25a of FIG. 25;

FIG. 26 is a section along the line 26-26 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 27 is a section along the line 27-27 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 28 is a section along the line 28-28 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 29 is a section along the line 29-29 of FIG. 4;

' DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Introduction cutting of the eventually formed and sealed tube. In this connection,-the.web 36 is formed into a sealedtube 44 at thetube forming station 46; and the formed and sealedtube 44 is flattened by thepressure roller assembly 48 prior to cutting of the tubeby the cut-offknife assembly 50, the operation of which is controlled by signals received from the photocell arrangement42 to assure proper registration of the cutting with the location of the filter tipping 40. Thus, the flattened tube is cut intospills 52 having filter tipping at one end thereof. The formed spills are separated lengthwise from one another by theseparator conveyor 54. Thisconveyor 54 also shapes thespills 52 to impart some degree of rigidity thereto sufficient to withstand impact against thestop plate 56. Inthis manner, the spills are transferred onto a collectingconveyor 58 which'conveys the spills parallel to one anotherand'in a path substantially normal to the path of'travel of thepaper tube 44. A spacinggate assembly 60 is associated with the separator conveyor 58'and is operable to collect the spills traveling on theconveyor 58 and permit a predetermined number of spills to pass for eventual bundling and banding and disposition in the manual cigarette making kit discussed in the above. Thus, the predetermined number of spills permitted to pass by thegate assembly 60 are directed to thespill bundling station 62 at which the spills are bundled and-banded by the bandingassembly 64 which is associated with the bundling station. The banded bundle ofspills 66 are then removed from the cigarette paper .tube forming machine 30 for further processing as part of such kit.

CIGARETTE PAPER SUPPLY The source ofcigarette paper 32 includes a suitably journaledroll 34 on which is preprinted cork simulating tipping 40 which, in accordance with a successful embodiment of the invention, is spaced 118mm apart as shown in FIG. 2. The tipping 40 is 50mm long and when out along its center line will produce a filter tip cigarette 84mm long when the cigarette portion of the paper which is l 18mm long is also out along its center line. i

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 24, the source ofcigarette paper 32." also comprises a suitably journaledroll 34, but the paper is unprinted. The cork tipping portion 40' is printed directly on the web 36'. This is accomplished by means of a driven gravure printing roll 70 having a lower portion immersed in asuitable ink supply 72. The roller 70 is furnished with the selected printing pattern spaced at intervals along its circumferentially extending periphery and adapted to print this pattern on the web 36'. The pressure roll 74 cooperateswith the driven printing roll 70 to print the selected length of the tippingportion 40 at spaced intervals on the web 36'. A scrapper 78 operates to remove excess printing ink from the roll 70 and permits only ink to remain in the printing pattern on the drum periphery. The printed pattern 40' onthe web 36' is dried by means of theheater 80 following which theweb 36 is placed in contact with the conveyor 38' for initiation of its movement through the tube making machine in accordance with the previously described embodiment.

In the embodiment of FIG. 25, the source ofcigarette paper 32" includes a suitably journaledroll 34" which is also unprinted. The tipping portion" is applied by means of preprinted patches suitably secured at the selected intervals on theweb 36". Thepatches 40" are formed by cuttingweb 82 extending from theroll 84 of preprinted simulated cork. Theknife drum 86 cuts theweb 82 into suitably dimensionedpatches 40"; and thevacuum anvil drum 88 and an eccentric roller 90 cooperate in applying thecut patches 40'. to theweb 36" at the selected predetermined intervals. In order toobtain the desired securement of thepatches 40" on theweb 36", one side of theweb 82 may have applied thereto glue by means of theglue pot applicator 92. Theweb 36" with-the appliedpatches 40" is then directed to theconveyor 38 and the remainder of thetube making machine 30 as in the previous embodiment.

PAPER CONVEYOR The conveyor'38 operates to impart the necessary movement to thecigarette paper web 36 to draw it from theroll 34 thereafter moving it through thetube forming station 46. Thisconveyor 38 may be formed of an endless tape extending over a drivendrum 102 anda series ofrolls 103, 104, 105, 106 and 107. The roll l05-diverts the path of theendless tape 100 to separate it from thepaper web 36 at thephotocell assembly station 42; but for the most part the tape remains in contact withthe'web 36 for drawing it from theroll 34 and aid in passing it through thephotocell assembly 42, thetube forming station 46 and the flatteningroll assembly 48.

PI-IOTOCELL ASSEMBLY turning of which causes cooperation with a tappedopening 118 in thebracket 112 to facilitate shifting theentire photocell assembly 42 relative to theframe 120.

Thephotocell 108 operates to detect the leading edge of the tippingpart 40 for purposes of generating a signal which is adapted to be compared with the location of the cuttingknife assembly 50. The photocell iii) assures the transmission of a signal by thephotocell 108 that is in a condition to cause adjustment of the speed of rotation of the cuttingknife assembly 50 only when thecorktipping part 40 is present. If the cigarette part of theweb 36 is present,photocell 108 to cause adjustment of theknife assembly 50," in the manner to bedescribed in detail shortly.

Registryhas been found to be necessary in the case when the .tippingpart 40 is preprinted because of the non-uniform stretching. of the paper during winding and unwinding operation of the paper supplier. In the embodiments of FIG. 24 and FIG. 25, where the tippingpart 40 and 40f is respectively printed or applied at thetube forming machine 30 registry may be practiced or desirably for quality control,, but experience has shown that it may not be a problem and may be eliminated. If this election is made, thephotocell assembly 42 and means for changing knife speed may be eliminated.

TUBE FORMING ASSEMBLY The tube forming assembly'46 converts the essentially flat paper.web 36 into a formed and sealedtube 44. In this connection, theweb 36 is formed about the tube forming rod'124 into a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional configuration as shown in- FIG. 26. Thereafter, an application of glue is applied to one of the inner faces of one of the marginal side edges by thegluer 128 as shown in FIG. 27. Themember 130 then cooperates with the tube to complete the formation of tube .by placing the marginal side edges in contact with one another so that the applied glue interposed Pressure Roller Assembly vcircurnferentially extendingnarrow edge 138 of a width less than that of the flattened cigarette paper tube in order to prevent the creasing of the lateral side edges thereof. See FIG. 10). Theroller 136 is suitably journaled on apivotal arm 140. The pressure which theroller 136 exerts against the cigarette paper tube results from the bias of thespring 142, the effect of which may be controlled by means of the eccentric 144.

Spill Cutting Knife Assembly Theknife assembly 50 cuts the flattened tube at predetermined intervals to produce spills 52. Towards this end, the knife is fixed to and. rotates withshaft 152 extending fromgear box 154 at an automatically adjustable speed for registry control. Inasmuch as thepaper tube 44 is traveling at high speeds,knife 150 is mounted on a universal 155 which permits theknife 150 to be placed at a slight angle to cooperate with and clear surfaces oflongitudinally reciprocating ledger 156 as the cut is made. v A cut-offledger 156 cooperates withknife 150 in cutting the flattened tube. The ledger includes a substantiallyU-shaped channel 158 which receives and supports the flattened tube during the cutting cycle. A pair of alignedslots 160 and 162 in the side walls of thechannel 158 accommodate the cutting edge of theknife 150 as it moves.Ledger 156 traverses alongitudinally reciprocal movement accomplished by mounting thechannel 158 on thebracket 164 which, in turn, is supported by the upper ends of a pair of spacedsprings 166 and 168 fixed at their respectivebases. The

bracket 164 is connected with acrank mechanism 170. Thus, as thecrank mechanism 170 revolves, thebracket 164 and, consequently, theledger channel 158 reciprocate longitudinally moving along the path of travel of the flattened tube as theintended .cut is made at approximately the same speed as the tube is traveling. Inasmuch as theknife 150 is canted by means of a universal 155, it clears surfaces of the cuttingslots 160 and 162. Theledger 156 then returns rearwardly to its starting position to commence another cutting cycle. In this manner, spills 52 are cut from the flattened cigarette paper tube.

Tipping Register Control tipping occurred before the knife cut (knife speedslow), and adjusts the knife speed accordingly.

As shown in FIG. 14, aDC motor 178 changes speed ofknife 150 as induced bygear box 180 through the phase shifting differential .182.

The phase shifting differential 182 allows the position of theknife 150 to be shifted in relation to the main machine drive 184 with an input from theDC motor 178.

The phase shifting differential 182 has two inputs one from themain drive 184 and one from theDC motor 178. The gear ratios are such that with: (1) zero DC motor speed, knife speed is maximum and (2) maximum DC motor speed, knife speed is minimum.

Themain drive 184 speed is constant; therefore, the speed of theDC motor 182 determines the correct knife speed for registration. TheDC motor 182 speed is controlled by the control 174 making decisions from inputs ofphotocells 108, 110 and 176. In actual practice the knife speed is faster than necessary to hold register in order to avoid braking themotor 182 and reversing its direction. Therefore, the DC-motor is always asked to increase its speed whereby the phase shifting differential subtracts from the knife speed.

Referring to FIG. 2 in which a successful specific embodiment is depicted, a knife cut occurs each 84mm length of paper. The leading edges of cork tipping 40 7 are spaced 168mm apart; Two knife cuts occur within this 168mm span. The control 174 compares the lead ing edgeof knife cut photocell 1'16 with the leading edge of cork tipping photocell 108'o'nly whenphotocell 110 detectscork tipping 40. This allows the control 174 to ignore the knife cut during the white portion of the paper. When the knife is running too fast, the control 174 senses the knife cut ahead of thecork tipping 40, switches theDC motor 182 to High Speed." During this condition, the control holds the motor'182 in High Speed until thecork tipping 40 is sensed ahead of the knife cut. Then theDC motor 182 is switched to Base Speed. (slow speed allowing the knife speed to increase. When the control 174 is holding register, theDC motor 182 is rapidly switched'between Base? and l-ligh" speeds which .has no effect on knife speed ad-.

justment'.

'PROGRAMMING I A programmer 190 synchronizes the operation of the downstreambundling and handingmechanisms 62 and 64 with the speed of the cuttingknife 150. In this connection, theoutput shaft 192 ofgear box 180 continuously rotates and makes one revolution every time the flattened paper tube is cut to individual lengths to produce aspill 52 and in this manner is synchronized with theknife 150. It will be noted thatphotocell 176 is associated with this shaft 192- in determining the location of knife 150in the cutting cycle. Thisshaft 192 also drives areduction gear box 194 which has a l00-l ratio when it is'desired to bundle andband 100 spills 52. The output shaft of the reduction gear box drives theprogrammer 190.'This programmer includes a gate cylinder timing cam 196a and 196b for thegate 60, a bundle plunger timing cam 198a and 198b for thebundler 62, a band hold timing cam 200for'the'bandingassembly 64, a band knife timing cam 202a and 202b for the bandingassembly 64 and a band heater timing cam 204a'and -204b"for the bandingassembly 64. Each cam has a pneumatic three-way valve associated therewith to pneumatically permit the programmed operation in timed sequence asdictated by the timing cams.

I Thereduction gear box 194 also trips aswitch 205 after the preselected count is reached to index the bundlingassembly 62 for reception of another bundler of spills 52.

The input intogear box 180, adjustably by the phase shifting differential 182, serves as the drive for thespill separator conveyor 54. This is accomplished bycoupling shaft 206 to drivepulleys 208 and 210 through therespective gear boxes 212 and 214 which serve to increase the rate of rotation of the pulleys relative toshaft 206.

Separator Conveyor The separator conveyor-54 travels at a greater speed than thetube 44 and consequently serves to space he cut spills 52. Theseparator conveyor 54 includes a pair of lower drivenbands 216 and 218-suitably mounted by pulleys and driven bypulley 208; Theconveyor 54 also includes an upper band 22.0 on pulleys driven bypulley 210. The leading end ofbands 216, 218 and 220 are proximate to one another whereby the cut spills 52 in a flattened condition are readily picked up thereby. The disposition of these belts relative to one another are spills 52 which have been rigidified,striking thestop plate 56 without concern over the impacted ends of the spills being damaged. Upon impact of thespills 52 with thestop plate 56, they are dropped or deposited on the collectingconveyor 58.Plate 222 serves to stop the spills 52in the other direction after hittingplate 56.

Collecting Conveyor The collectingconveyor 58 operates to transfer the flattened spills 52 to the counting andspacing gate 60 for collecting a predetermined number thereof and eventual transfer ofthis number to the bundlingassembly 62. The drive for theconveyor 58 is taken off of theshaft 192extendingfromuthe gear box 180 of theknife assembly 50. As will be observed in FIG. 17, the spills traveling onconveyor 58 are essentially parallel to one'another and travel substantially normal to the direction of travel of thetube 44. A static electrical charge dissipating orremovalmeans 223 may be employed to remove any static electricity carried by thespills 52 to facilitate handling them during subsequent operations.

Spacing Gate The spacing gate'60 is in a lowered position relative to theconveyor 58 to collect the selected predetermined number of spills for eventual transmission to the bundlingassembly 62. In accomplishing this, the gate '60includes alower brush end 224, the bristles of-whichair cylinder 230 in timed relation so that a selected predetermined number ofspills 52 for bundling is permitted to pass through the open gate on theconveyor 58. The operation of thecylinder 230 is taken off of the timing cams 196 ofprogrammer 190. The timing permits thegate 60 to be in its'lowered position sufficiently to collect thespills 52 and then to be raised and subsequently lowered to permit the predetermined number of spills 52. topass through the gate to the bundlingassembly 62. As explained earlier, this timing or count is taken off of the rotation of theknife 50.

In accordance with a successful embodiment of the invention, spills are permitted to be collected and passed through thegate 60 for eventual bundling.

Bundling Assembly The bundlingassembly 62 receives the predetermined number ofspills 52 passed through thegate 60 and bundles them for banding by the bandingassembly 64. The bundlingassembly 62 comprises a bundlingdrum 234 which may comprise any number of bundling sure the properplacement'and collection ofthespills 52 in the receiving-pockets 236, abundle plunger 240 travels in thechute 238 after 'the predetermined number of spills. has been discharged by the conveyor .58. Theplunger 240 extends'from an air cylinder242, the actuation of which is controlled by the timing cams 198 of theprogrammer 190. In the manner to 'be described in detail shortly, a length of bandingmaterial 244 extends at the bottom of thechute 238 across the opening into theuppermost pocket 236 for reception 'of the predetermined number of spills discharged by theconveyor 58. Upon actuation of the air'cylinder 242 upon reception of a signal from the timing cam 198a following the collection of the predetermined number ofspills 52,- theplunger 240 is driven downwardly into the collected spills to urge the spills together with the'length of banding material 244into thepocket 236. Thereafter, the spills with the length of banding material 244- is moved upon indexing ofthedrum 234 to permit another spill receiving pocket to be moved to a spill collecting position at the lower end of thechute 238, and theplunger 240 is retracted by a signal from timingcam 19%.

Banding Assembly The bandingassembly 64 furnishes the selected length of handingmaterial 244 for banding about the bundled predetermined number of spills contained in thespill receiving pocket 236. The length of the banding material .244 is supplied from a web extending from -a roll 2460f banding material. The'web isintermittently driven to remove banding material from theroll 246 bymeans of a driven-roll 248 and a downwardlybiased roll 250/The drivenroll 248 takes its driveas engagement with a fixed support266 with the leading end of the band interposed therebetween. Theplunger 265 isspring biased and is lowered by actuation of theair cylinder 268 which is coupled with the timing cam 200.- After theband 244 is cut and while theplunger 265 is in its lowered band engaging position, theplunger 240 drives the collected predetermined number of spills downwardly into the receivingpocket 236 together with theband 244. The'trailing end of theband 244 "is consequently draw'n forwardly away from the cuttingknife 254. Thereafter, the hold downplunger 265 is retracted upon deactuation of the air cylinder-268. f i v The onerevolution clutch 252 is then actuated upon receipt of signal from the one cycle switch to index thebundle drum 234 to present a newspill receiving pocket 236. At the same time, the band drive roll248 is actuated to feed the desired length ofweb 244 across thespill receiving pocket 236 now in the spill receiving position.

As the bundle of spills and partially encasedband 244 traverses its movement to the next indexed position of the bundled drum, the leading end of theband 244 is folded across the opening of thepocket 236 over the contained spills 52. The peripheral leading edge and trailingedge of theband 244 are placed in contact withone another. When the next indexing position of theair cylinder 264, theyoke 262 is driven upwardly to cause rotation of theshaft 258 and consequent movement of themovable knife 254 downwardly. Theyoke 262 immediately returns to-its initial position upon deenergization of the air cylinder 26.4. Theair cylinder 264 is actuated upon receipt of signals from the timing cams 202 of programmer190. The cutting of thelength v 244 banding material to form a band for the bundle of spills is accomplished slightly before the downward actuation ofplunger 240. Essentially simultaneously with the actuation ofair cylinder 264, the leading end of theband 244 is held by the movement ofplunger 265 into the bundle drum is reached, the-band heat seal 270 is lowered into the engaged peripheral edges of the band to heat seal them together. Theheat seal 270 is then retracted. The movement of the'heat seal 27 0 is caused .by theair cylinder 272, the actuation of. which is taken off the timingcams 204. The'banded bundle of spills is then discharged from thebundle drum 234 when the drum indexes once again.

Summary I With specific reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the formation of banded bundled spills from a tube cigarette paper having a tipping part thereon for the manufacture of filter-tip cigarettes as wellas the apparatus accomplishing this-operation may be summarized as follows. Theweb 36 of cigarette paper having spaced tippingparts 40 thereof is directed from theroll 34 through thephotocell arrangement 42 for assuring proper registration of the cut made by theknife assembly 50 with the tippingpart 40. Theweb 36 is transformed into a sealedtube 44 at thetube forming station 46 by initially forming theweb 36 into a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional configuration, applying glue to the inner face of onc'of the marginal side'edges and then sealing the seam provided by the overlapped marginal side edges when placed in contact with one another. The formed sealedtube 44 is then flattened by thepressure roller assembly 48. The flattened tube passes onto theledger 156 which cooperates with theknife assembly 50 in effecting the desired cutting of the flattened tube along essentially the center of the tippingpart 40 and the center of the cigarette paper betweensuch tipping parts 40. Inasmuch as thetube 44 is traveling at relatively high speeds, the U shapedchannel 158

Claims (35)

1. A cigarette paper tube forming machine comprising, in combination,: a source of cigarette paper; a substantially flat web of said cigarette paper extending from said source; a tube forming rod receiving the web of cigarette paper and about which the web is formed into a tube above the rod with the tube having overlapping marginal side edges; a glue applicator for applying glue to one of the side edges; means for placing the marginal side edges into contact with one another whereupon the interposed glue secures and seals the edges together; roller means for flattening the formed and sealed tube; knife means for cutting the flattened tube at preset intervals to form spills; spacing means for longitudinally spacing the spills from one another; a collecting conveyor means for receiving the spaced spills and conveying them parallel to one another a spacing gate associated with the collecting means for accumulating spills on the collecting conveyor and then permitting a predetermined number of the spills to be passed thereby on the collecting conveyor means; bundling means for receiving and bundling the predetermined number of spills passed by the gate; and banding means for banding the bundle spills.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the source of cigarette paper is a roll.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 wherein the cigarette paper has a tipping part at spaced intervals thereon for cooperating in providing a filter end of a cigarette.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the tipping part is preprinted on the paper roll.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the tipping part is printed on the web of the paper, and means for printing the tipping part on the web between the roll and the tube forming rod.

6. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the tipping part is defined by a separate patch pasted to the web, a roll of the patch material having a web, means for applying paste to the web of patch material, means for cutting the pasted web to provide the patch and means for applying the patch to the paper web at a predetermined location and between the paper roll and the tube forming rod.

7. The invention in accordance with claim 3 wherein the knife means cuts the tipping part transversely approximately along its center and the paper web between adjacent tipping parts transversely approximately along the center between adjacent tipping parts.

8. The invention in accordance with claim 7 wherein control means are provided to regulate the action of said knife means and thereby Assure cutting the tipping part along its center.

9. The invention in accordance with claim 8 wherein said control means includes a first photocell assembly for sensing the leading end of the tipping part, a second photocell assembly for sensing the position of the knife means, and knife speed adjusting means responsive to the photocell assemblies for determining whether the cut of the flattened tube by the knife means sensed by the second photocell assembly occurred before the tipping part is sensed by the first photocell assembly or whether the tipping part occurred before the cut for adjusting the speed of said knife means to maintain the cut in proper register with said tipping part.

10. The invention in accordance with claim 9 wherein a third photocell assembly is provided for sensing intermediate portions of the tipping part to permit adjusting of the knife means speed only when the cut is made of the tipping part by the knife means.

11. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein heater means is provided for heating the overlapped marginal side edges to hasten the securement and sealing thereof by the interposed glue.

12. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the roller means engages the formed and sealed tube along a longitudinal zone spaced inwardly from the lateral side edges of the tube.

13. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein knife means includes a cutting knife, drive means for rotating the knife about an axis and in a manner for cutting the flattened tube transversely of its longitudinal axis and its path of travel.

14. The invention in accordance with claim 13 wherein ledger means are associated with the knife means for receiving the flattened tube and for facilitating the cutting action of the knife and means for shifting the ledger means longitudinally in the direction of travel of the flattened tube in timed relationship with the movement of the cutting blade.

15. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the spacing means comprises a lower pair of laterally spaced driven belts on which the flattened spills are adapted to travel at an increased speed to space the spills one from the other and an upper third belt driven at the same speed as said pair of belts substantially in line with the longitudinal axis of the spills and having a lower surface disposed relative to the upper surface of the lower pair of belts to hold the spills between the upper belt and lower pair of belts and at the same time introduce an essentially V-shaped cross-sectional configuration thereto to impart some degree of rigidity to the flattened spills.

16. The invention in accordance with claim 15 wherein a stop plate is spaced from the trailing end of the spacing means and the spills are adapted to be projected by the spacing means against the stop plate with the spills adapted to maintain their uniform flattened shape because of the imparted rigidity upon impact with the plate.

17. The invention in accordance with claim 16 wherein tee collecting conveyor is disposed relative to the spacing means to convey the separated spills in a direction normal to the path of conveyance of the spacing means.

18. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein programming means are coupled with the spacing gate and the knife means whereby the count for the number of spills to pass through the gate is proportional to the actuation of the knife means.

19. The invention in accordance with claim 18 wherein a pneumatic piston-cylinder assembly is coupled with the gate, and the programming means is operable to actuate the piston-cylinder assembly to open the gate when the selected count is reached.

20. The invention in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bundling means comprises an intermittently rotatable indexing drum comprised of a number of spill receiving pockets which are adapted to be sequentially rotated to a spill receiving position upon indexing of the drum, indexing means for intermittently rotating said drum to positiOn a pocket at said spill receiving position, said gate being responsive to permit the predetermined number of spills to be directed to the pocket at spill receiving position.

21. The invention in accordance with claim 20 wherein plunger means are associated with the drum for compressing the predetermined number of spills in the pocket at the spill receiving position.

22. The invention in accordance with claim 21 wherein said banding means includes a source of supply of banding material, a web of said banding material extending from said source, means for directing said web of banding material across the opening of the pocket of the drum at the spill receiving position, said predetermined number of spills passed through the gate adapted to collect on the web of banding material across the drum pocket at the spill receiving position, knife means for cutting a predetermined length off the free end of the web of banding material to provide a band for the collected predetermined number of spills, the plunger being operable to push the collected predetermined number of spills together with the cut band into the drum pocket at the spill receiving position, band securing means for securing the band about the collected spills as the drum indexes to position another pocket at the spill receiving position.

23. The invention in accordance with claim 22 wherein band hold down means are provided for holding the free end of the band as it is cut.

24. The invention in accordance with claim 23 wherein band heat seal means are provided for heat sealing the ends of the band about the collected spills.

25. A machine for bundling and banding a predetermined number of spills comprising: means for forming cigarette paper into a sealed tube; means for cutting the formed and sealed tube into spills; a collecting conveyor for receiving the spills and conveying them for bundling; a gate associated with the collecting conveyor means for accumulating spills on the collecting conveyor and then permitting a predetermined number of the spills to be passed therethrough on the collecting conveyor means; bundling means for receiving and bundling the predetermined number of spills passed by the gate; and banding means for banding the bundled spills.

26. The invention in accordance with claim 25 wherein the bundling means comprise an intermittently rotatable indexing drum comprised of a number of spill receiving pockets which are adapted to be sequentially rotated to a spill receiving position upon indexing of the drum, indexing means for intermittently rotating said drum to position the pocket at said spill receiving position, said gate being responsive to permit the predetermined number of spills to be directed to the pocket at the spill receiving position.

27. The invention in accordance with claim 26 wherein the plunger means are associated with the drum for compressing the predetermined number of spills in the pocket at the spill receiving position.

28. The invention in accordance with claim 27 wherein said banding means includes a source of supply of banding material, web or said banding material extending from said source, means for directing said web of banding material across the opening of the pocket of the drum at the spill receiving position, said predetermined number of spills passed through the gate adapted to collect in the web of the banding material across the drum pocket at the spill receiving position, knife means for cutting a predetermined length off the free end of the web of banding material to provide a band for the collected predetermined number of spills, the plunger being operable to push the collected predetermined number of spills together with the cut band into the drum pocket at the spill receiving position, band securing means for securing the band about the collected spills as the drum indexes to position another pocket at the spill receiving position.

29. The invention in accordance with claim 28 wherein band hold down means are provided for holding the free end of the band as it is cut.

30. The invention in accordance with claim 29 wherein heat seal means are provided for heat sealing the ends of the band about the collected spills.

31. The invention in accordance with claim 25 wherein programming means are coupled with the gate and the means for cutting the paper tube whereby the count for the number of spills to pass through the gate is proportional to the actuation of the knife means.

32. A method of producing banded bundles of cigarette paper spills comprising: feeding a substantially flat web of cigarette paper from a source along a longitudinal axis and path of travel; forming the web into a hollow sealed tube extending along the longitudinal axis; flattening the hollow formed and sealed tube; cutting the flattened tube at preset intervals to form spills; spacing spills longitudinally from one another; stopping conveyance of the spills along said path; conveying the spaced spills substantially parallel to one another and in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis; collecting and isolating a predetermined number of said spills; bundling the collected and isolated predetermined number of spills; banding the bundled spills; and synchronizing the operation of the collecting, bundling and banding of the spills with the cutting of the spills from the tube.

33. The invention in accordance with claim 32 wherein the cigarette paper has a tipping part at a spaced intervals thereon for cooperating in providing a filter end of a cigarette, cutting the tube approximately along the center of the tipping part and the center of the tube between adjacent tipping parts.

34. A method of producing a banded bundle of cigarette paper stills comprising: feeding a substantially flat web of cigarette paper from a source, the cigarette paper having a tipping part at spaced intervals thereon for cooperating in providing a filter end of a cigarette; forming the web into a sealed tube; flattening the formed and sealed tube; cutting the flattened tube to form spills approximately along the center of the tipping part and the center of the tube between adjacent tipping parts; regulating the action of the cutting of the tube along the center of the tipping part by sensing the leading end of the tipping part and sensing the position of the cutting of the tube and adjusting the speed of the cutting action of the tube by determining whether the cutting of the tube is sensed before the tipping part is sensed or whether the tipping part was sensed before the cutting of the tube whereby the adjusting of the speed of the cutting action is effected to maintain the cut in proper register with the center of the tipping part; spacing the spills longitudinally from one another; conveying the spaced spills substantially parallel to one another; collecting a predetermined number of said spills; bundling the predetermined number of spills; and banding the bundled spills.

35. The invention in accordance with claim 34 wherein intermediate portions of the tipping part are sensed to permit adjusting of the cutting action only when the cut is made of the tipping part and not when the cutting of the tube is between tipping parts.

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