RU2744263C2 - Cleaning unit, machine used in tobacco industry for manufacture of multi-segment filter rods and method for chain cleaning of rod-shaped elements - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: tobacco industry.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a cleaning unit for machines used in the tobacco industry. In this case, the cleaning unit is designed to remove impurities from the bulk material from the rod-shaped elements, segments of the bulk material and the wrapper. The cleaning unit contains at least one cleaning element located in the cleaning zone for removing impurities from the bulk material from the rod-shaped elements; at least one suction element for removing impurities from the bulk material from the rod-shaped elements; a displacement mechanism designed to move the closing elements to positions in which the closing elements at least partially close the compartments filled with bulk material between the rod-shaped elements during the movement of the chain in the immediate vicinity of the suction nozzle. At the same time, the closing elements in part of their trajectory of movement are made with the possibility of moving parallel to the direction of movement of the rod-shaped elements. The cleaning unit additionally contains an outlet partition located at the exit of the cleaning zone to limit the uncontrolled movement of impurities from the cleaning zone to the headset zone located above the chain of rod-shaped elements and having a passage through which the closing elements pass.EFFECT: technical result is elimination of the movement of material particles that are not placed in the compartments between the solid segments or that ones that rise from the surface of the segments in the direction of movement of the chain of segments.15 cl, 13 dwg

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cleaning unit for use in tobacco industry machines for removing contaminants from a string of rod-shaped elements, a machine used in the tobacco industry for making multi-segment filter rods, and a method for cleaning a string of rod-shaped elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Products of the tobacco industry, such as cigarettes, may contain segmental filters with various filter materials, such as activated carbon in the form of free-flowing granules, located between adjacent solid-shaped segments. The activated carbon segment can be formed by placing the carbon between adjacent solid segments, which are generally in the form of rod-like elements with filtering properties, or rod-like elements with non-filtering properties, for example containing flavor capsules. Manufacturers of filters containing charcoal or other granular material aim to arrange portions of bulk material in such a way that the segments adjacent to the granular compartment and other segments in the chain of segments are not contaminated with this material. Moreover, manufacturers expect granular material not to get caught between the side edges of the wrapper, which are glued together. In the case of activated carbon, particles of carbon trapped between the wrapper and the segments or between the surfaces of the wrapper are easily seen in the final product. Therefore, there is a need to remove material particles present on the segments before wrapping the segment chain with a wrapper.

Various methods are known for removing contaminants.

US Pat. No. 3,482,488 discloses a device for removing contaminants from rod-like elements using a rotating brush. The disadvantage of this solution is the low cleaning efficiency.

A known method for removing contaminants using suction nozzles, in particular from European patent EP 2286681 B1. However, the solution presented in that document only removes a portion of the contaminants and does not prevent the uncontrolled movement of contaminants.

PCT application WO 2016139198 on behalf of the present applicant discloses suction nozzles located on either side of a moving chain of segments.

In the case of high production speeds, particles of granular material (and more generally: bulk material) that have not been placed in the compartment between the segments can bounce off the segments and structural elements of the machine and move over the moving chain of segments in a completely uncontrolled manner. None of the above documents disclosed a solution that would exclude or limit this phenomenon.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for manufacturing multi-segment filter rods containing bulk material, in which particles of material that are not located in the compartments between solid segments or that rise from the surface of the segments are prevented from moving in the direction of travel of the chain of segments, i. E. they are not allowed to move between successive parts of the device or zones in which successive operations of the filter rod manufacturing process take place.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cleaning unit for machines used in the tobacco industry is disclosed. The machine used in the tobacco industry is configured to process a moving chain of rod-shaped elements, separated by compartments and partially wrapped in a wrapper, while the compartments are filled with bulk material forming segments of the bulk material. The cleaning unit is located in the machine used in the tobacco industry in the cleaning zone, which is located between: the filling zone for filling the compartments with bulk material between the rod-shaped elements and the set zone for forming a chain of the rod-shaped elements into a continuous filter rod. The cleaning unit is configured to remove impurities from bulk material from rod-shaped elements, segments of bulk material and wrapper. The cleaning unit contains: at least one cleaning element located in the cleaning zone for removing impurities from the bulk material from the rod-shaped elements; at least one suction element for removing impurities from the bulk material from the rod-shaped elements; a displacement mechanism adapted to move the cover elements to positions in which the cover elements at least partially cover the compartments filled with bulk material between the rod-like elements during the movement of the chain in the immediate vicinity of the suction nozzle. The closing elements in part of their trajectory of movement are made with the possibility of moving parallel to the direction of movement of the rod-like elements. The cleaning unit additionally contains a baffle at the outlet, located at the outlet of the cleaning zone, to limit the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning zone to the headset area located above the chain of rod-shaped elements and having a passage through which the closing elements pass.

The cleaning unit may include an inlet baffle located at the inlet to the cleaning area to restrict uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the filling area to the cleaning area.

The cleaning unit may comprise an end baffle located at the inlet of the headset area to restrict uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning area into the headset area located above the chain of rod-shaped elements and having a groove through which the edge of the wrapper passes.

The cleaning unit may include a protective baffle having a surface that is parallel to the direction of travel, located in front of the end baffle relative to the direction of travel, to restrict uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning area to the rod-shaped elements of the chain.

The cleaning unit may further comprise an initial baffle located at the outlet of the filling zone to limit the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the filling zone to the cleaning zone.

At least one baffle can be located transverse to the direction of movement.

At least one baffle may be in the form of a flat plate.

At least one baffle may be in the form of an arcuate plate.

At least one baffle may have a major surface directed at an acute angle with respect to the direction of movement.

The cover may have a thin-walled cover.

The suction element may be in the form of a suction nozzle having a longitudinal suction opening.

The cleaning element can be a scraper element in the form of a brush.

The cleaning element can be a scraper element in the form of a compressed air nozzle.

Also disclosed is a machine for the tobacco industry for making multi-segment filter rods, comprising: a loading unit for spaced rod-like elements in a chain on a wrapper located on a garment belt; a feeding unit for feeding bulk material into compartments between the rod-like elements; cleaning unit for removing impurities from bulk material from rod-shaped elements; a garment unit for wrapping the wrapper around the rod-shaped elements and bulk material to form a continuous filter rod; a cutting head for cutting a continuous rod into multi-segment filter rods. The cleaning unit may be as described above.

Also disclosed is a method for cleaning a chain of rod-shaped elements during the manufacture of filter rods in a machine used in the tobacco industry, while the machine used in the tobacco industry is configured to process a moving chain of rod-shaped elements separated by compartments and partially wrapped in a wrapper, while the compartments are filled with bulk material forming segments of bulk material. The method includes removing impurities from the bulk material in the cleaning zone by moving the closing elements to positions in which the closing elements at least partially close the compartments filled with bulk material between the rod-shaped elements during the movement of the chain in the immediate vicinity of the cleaning element, while the closing elements in part, their trajectory is moved parallel to the direction of movement of the rod-like elements. The method includes limiting the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning zone by providing an outlet baffle located at the outlet of the cleaning zone over a chain of rod-shaped elements, wherein the outlet baffle contains a passage through which the closing elements pass.

With the method according to the present invention, the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning zone is limited by the use of an outlet baffle located at the outlet of the cleaning zone over a chain of rod-like elements containing a passage through which the closure elements pass.

The solution according to the present invention provides for a very efficient cleaning of the rod-shaped elements, while maintaining a high degree of filling of the compartments with bulk material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GRAPHIC MATERIALS

The present invention is shown using exemplary embodiments in the drawings, in which:

in fig. 1 and FIG. 2 shows fragments of examples of continuous multi-segment rods;

in fig. 3 shows an example of a multi-segment bar;

in fig. 4 schematically shows a fragment of a machine for the production of multi-segment filter rods;

in fig. 5 is a front view of a detail of a machine for making multi-segment filter rods;

in fig. 6 is a top view of a detail of a machine for manufacturing multi-segment filter rods;

in fig. 7 shows a cross-section a-a of FIG. 5 compartments with bulk material in a chain of rod-shaped elements;

in fig. 8 shows a cross-section C-C of FIG. 5 rod-shaped element and suction nozzle;

in fig. 9 shows a cross-section BB according to FIG. 5 rod-shaped element in a chain of rod-shaped elements;

in fig. 10 shows an embodiment of a cleaning element in the form of two compressed air nozzles;

in fig. 11 shows an embodiment in which a compressed air nozzle passes through a suction nozzle;

in fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view D-D of FIG. 5 rod-shaped element in a chain of rod-shaped elements;

in fig. 13 is a top view of a detail of a machine for making multi-segment filter rods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 shows fragments of examples of continuous multi-segment rods CR1 and CR2 formed from chains of rod-shaped elements (segments) S1, S2 and SC, respectively, prepared during manufacture, formed by means of the assembly according to the present invention, the segments being wrapped in a wrapper 101. Segments S1 and S2 have a solid shape, generally cylindrical, while the SC segment is made of bulk material 102, which is located between the S1 and S1 segments or between the S1 and S2 segments. The presented continuous rods are cut into multi-segment rods. FIG. 3 shows an example of a multi-segment bar R2 made from a continuous multi-segment bar CR2.

FIG. 4 schematically shows a fragment of a machine for the production of multi-segment filter rods. The machine comprises a loading unit 1, which is configured to accommodate the rod-shaped elements S1 and S2 in the form of a chain ST1, while the rod-shaped elements S1 and S2 are transported at substantially predetermined intervals between them. Bar-shaped elements S1 and S2 are loaded onto the garment belt 5. A wrapper, such as wrapping paper, is loaded onto the garment belt conveyor 5, and the elements S1 and S2 are placed on the wrapper 101. Above the moving chain ST1, there is a filling unit 103 for feeding bulk material

102, for example, activated carbon to form the SC segment. The raised edges of the wrapper 101 and the front surfaces of the elements S1 and S2 form compartments 105 into which the bulk material 102 is loaded from the filling unit 103. The string ST2 of rod-shaped elements S1, S2 and SC, which is moved on the garment belt 5, is wrapped in the wrapper 101 by means of the garniture unit 6, the edges of the wrapper 101 are raised to a distance for filling and cleaning with bulk material. The garment tape 5 generally forms part of the garment assembly 6. Adjacent to the filling assembly 103 is a cleaning assembly 104 for removing bulk material contamination from the rod-like elements, i. E. particles of bulk material that fell on the surface of the rod-like elements S1 and S2 in the previous step, i.e. when bulk material was fed from a filling unit

103. The produced continuous rod CR is transported further and, after the wrapper 101 is glued in the garniture unit 6, it is cut by means of the cutting head 8 into separate multi-segment rods R.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a detail of a filter rod machine. The string ST1 of rod-shaped elements S1, S2 passes through the filling zone Z1 for loading bulk material, and then, in the form of a string ST2 of rod-shaped elements, also containing bulk material, passes through the cleaning zone Z2 and through the garment zone Z3 to form a continuous filter rod.

FIG. 5 shows the successive steps of a process for loading bulk material 102 into compartments 105 in the filling zone Z1, wherein the filling unit 103 for supplying bulk material may be configured as disclosed in PCT application WO 2016139198 (on behalf of the present applicant), or according to other embodiments from the prior art, for example, disclosed in documents US 3545345, US 3623404, DE 1432720B2, EP 0568278 B1. FIG. 5 shows only examples of the pockets 103A of the filling assembly 103.

The cleaning unit 104, located adjacent to the filling unit 103, is equipped with cover members 10 mounted on a chain conveyor 15 shown in FIG. 6, which is equipped with two sprockets 16. The cover elements 10 may be in the form of those disclosed in PCT application WO 2016139198 (on behalf of the present applicant). The closing elements 10 on a fragment of their trajectory of movement linearly move parallel to the direction T of movement, which is the direction of movement of the chain ST1, ST2 of rod-shaped elements, while additionally they move vertically by a certain distance transversely to the direction of movement T to approach the compartment 105 filled with bulk material 102 which can be accomplished with a flat linear bearing, and the mechanism for this movement is not shown in the figure. Downward movement is indicated by arrow F, upward movement is indicated by arrow G, and movement along ST2 is indicated by arrow H. FIG. 7 shows a closure 10 having a thin-walled closure 10A that closes compartment 105.

In the presented solution above the path of movement of the chain ST2 is a cleaning element, which in the illustrated embodiment has the form of at least one brush 11, 11 'for sweeping dirt in the form of bulk material 102 from the surface of the segments S1, S2. Therefore, the brush 11, 11 'is a dirt-sweeping element. As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning portion 11A (bristles) of the brush 11, 11 'touches the side surface of the element S2 (in the illustrated movement step of the cover element 10). The number of brushes 11, 11 'in the cleaning zone Z2 can be provided as required. Above the segment string ST1 is a suction nozzle 12, which may have a plurality of holes or one longitudinal opening parallel to the string ST1 directly above the elements S1, S2, so that the cover portions 10A of the cover elements 10 can be moved from the bottom of the nozzle 12, as shown in FIG. 9.

The cleaning element can also be in the form of a compressed air nozzle that removes impurities by blowing them off from the side surface of the elements S1, S2. FIG. 10 shows two nozzles 17 and 18 for compressed air, which are directed to the recesses formed by the side surfaces of the rod-shaped elements S1 and S2 and the wrap 101. The nozzles 17 and 18 for compressed air can be directed perpendicular to the direction of movement of the rod-shaped elements or at an angle a relative to this direction as shown in FIG. 5, wherein the angle a is preferably in the range from 30 ° to 60 ° and is, for example, equal to 45 °. FIG. 11 shows a further embodiment in which a compressed air nozzle 19 passes through a suction nozzle 12. Similarly, the compressed air nozzle 19 is directed towards the recess between S1, S2 and the wrapper 101. Positioning the outlet of the compressed air nozzle 19 at the suction nozzle inlet 12 (essentially at the inlet of the suction element) causes additional air turbulence, which intensifies the lifting of dirt from the surface of the rod-shaped elements S1, S2.

The cleaning element may be in the form of a soft plastic element covering the rim to remove contaminants. The plastic wiper can be fixed or rotatable.

The string ST2, which has left the cleaning zone Z2, is prepared to form a continuous filter rod CR from the string, which is carried out in the set zone Z3. The garment area Z3 has an adhesive nozzle 13 and guiding elements (not shown in the figures for simplicity, but known from the prior art) for folding the edges of the wrapper to join these edges and glue them together to form a continuous filter rod.

Filling chamber 105 with bulk material 102 from pocket 103A may result in not all bulk of bulk material being transferred to chamber 105. Part of the particles that have a certain velocity may bounce off the rod-shaped elements S1, S2 or from the wrapper 101 and subsequently fall onto the surface of elements S1, S2, and the particles of bulk material 102 can fall at any point, for example, immediately before the edges of the wrapper are glued.

Cleaning the bulk material in the cleaning unit 104 with the cleaning element 11, 11 'and the suction nozzle 12 can remove most of the dirt. However, there is a risk that some contaminants will be lifted above the elements S1, S2 and will not be accepted by the suction nozzle 12. Therefore, there is a risk that these contaminants will fall further from the elements S1, S2 or get caught between the edges of the wrapper, which will stick together with dirt between these surfaces. In order to eliminate the risk of uncontrolled movement of contaminants between the filling unit 103, the cleaning unit 104 and the headset unit 6, partitions 14, 124, 34, 44, 54 are provided, and they are located above the moving chain of segments. Due to the fact that the zones of operation of the nodes may differ from the area occupied by the nodes themselves, the problem of movement of contaminants can be characterized as an uncontrolled movement of contaminants between the filling zone Z1, the cleaning zone Z2 and the garniture zone Z3 to form a filter rod.

In the presented solution, there is a rather high risk of contamination moving between the cleaning zone Z2 and the garment zone Z3, since not all particles of bulk material that are lifted by the cleaning element can be received by the suction nozzle 12. These particles can again fall on the rod-shaped elements S1, S2. The partition 34 at the outlet, located on the side of the set zone Z3 (at the exit from the cleaning zone Z2), is intended to limit the uncontrolled movement of particles of bulk material from the cleaning zone Z2 to the set zone Z3. The partition wall 24 at the entrance is located on the side of the filling zone Z1 (at the entrance to the cleaning zone Z2) and is intended to limit the uncontrolled movement of material particles from the filling zone Z1 to the cleaning zone Z2. The outlet baffle 34 and the inlet baffle 24 may be similar to each other. The outlet baffle 34 and the inlet baffle 24 can be made in one part or in the form of baffles from several parts. FIG. 7 shows an exemplary embodiment in which the inlet baffle 24 is a two-piece baffle composed of portions 24A and 24B. Between the portions 24A and 24B there is a passage 25 through which the closure members 10 can pass. Similarly in FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the outlet baffle 34 is also a two-piece baffle and consists of portions 34A and 34B. Between the portions 34A and 34B is a passage 35 through which the closure members 10. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the inlet baffle 24 is located in front of the brush 11 and the outlet baffle 34 is located behind the brush 11 '. In another embodiment, the brushes 11, 11 'may be located in the passages 25, 35. As a result, the passage 25, 35 is actually narrowed so that there is only one space for the passage of the cover element 10. The baffles 24, 34 may have oblique surfaces (at an acute angle) relative to the direction T of movement of the chain ST2, due to which dirt particles can be diverted to the side outside the trajectory of the chain of rod-shaped elements. Baffles 24, 34 can be flat or arcuate. FIG. 13, the inlet baffle 24 'is flat and inclined, while the outlet baffle 34' is arcuate and oblique. The end baffle 44 is located at the entrance to the garment area, directly in front of the glue nozzle 13, in the region where the edges of the wrapper 101 are folded towards each other before they are glued. The end baffle 44 has a groove 20 at its lower edge to receive the edge of the wrapper 101, as shown in FIG. 12. In order to prevent the movement of contaminants into the set zone Z3, a protective partition 54 (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 6) is provided to form a continuous filter rod CR, the main surface of which is parallel to the direction of movement of the chain ST2, i.e. horizontally. The protective layer 54 prevents the movement of contaminants into the segments S1, S2 just before the start of the wrapping process 101. In the embodiment shown, an initial partition 14 is used at the outlet of the filling zone Z1 between the filling zone Z2 and the cleaning zone Z2, designed to prevent the movement of contaminants outside the filling zone. assembly 103 in the direction of the cleaning assembly 104.

Claims (34)

1. Cleaning unit for machines used in the tobacco industry, the cleaning unit (104) is configured to remove impurities from the bulk material (102) from the rod-like elements (S1, S2), the segments (SC) of the bulk material and the wrapper (101); and while the cleaning unit (104) contains: at least one cleaning element (11, 11 ') located in the cleaning zone (Z2) for removing impurities from the bulk material (102) from the rod-shaped elements (S1, S2); at least one suction element (12) for removing impurities from the bulk material (102) from the rod-like elements (S1, S2); a displacement mechanism (15) adapted to move the closure elements (10) to positions in which the closure elements (10) at least partially close the compartments (105) filled with bulk material (102) between the rod-shaped elements (S1, S2) during the movement of the chain (ST2) in the immediate vicinity of the suction nozzle (12); and at the same time, the closing elements (10) in part of their trajectory of movement are made with the possibility of moving parallel to the direction of movement of the rod-like elements (S1, S2); characterized in that cleaning unit (104) additionally contains: a partition (34) at the outlet, located at the outlet of the cleaning zone (Z2), to limit the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning zone (Z2) to the set zone (Z3), located above the chain (ST2) of rod-shaped elements and having a passage (35), through which the closing elements (10) pass. 2. Cleaning unit according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a baffle (24) at the inlet, located at the entrance to the cleaning zone (Z2), to limit the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the filling zone (Z1) to the cleaning zone (Z2) ... 3. Cleaning unit according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an end partition (44) located at the entrance of the headset area (Z3) to limit the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning area (Z2) to the headset area (Z3) located over the chain (ST2) of rod-shaped elements and having a groove (20) through which the edge of the wrapper (101) passes. 4. Cleaning unit according to claim. 3, characterized in that it comprises a protective partition (54) having a surface that is parallel to the direction (T) of movement, located in front of the end partition (44) relative to the direction (T) of movement, to limit uncontrolled movement contamination from the cleaning zone (Z2) to the rod-shaped elements (S1, S2) of the chain (ST2). 5. Cleaning unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises an initial baffle (14) located at the outlet of the filling zone (Z1) to limit the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the filling zone (Z1) to the cleaning zone (Z2). 6. A cleaning unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one partition (14, 24, 34, 44) is located transverse to the direction (T) of movement. 7. A cleaning unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one partition (14, 24, 34, 44, 54) is in the form of a flat plate. 8. Cleaning unit according to any one of paragraphs. 1-6, characterized in that at least one partition (14, 24, 34, 44) has the shape of an arcuate plate. 9. A cleaning unit according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one partition (14, 24, 34, 44) has a main surface directed at an acute angle with respect to the direction (T) of movement. 10. A cleaning unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover (10) has a thin-walled cover (10A). 11. A cleaning unit according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the suction element is in the form of a suction nozzle (12) having a longitudinal suction opening. 12. Cleaning unit according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning element is a scraper element in the form of a brush (11, 11 '). 13. Cleaning unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning element is a scraper element in the form of a nozzle (17, 18, 19) for compressed air. 14. Machine for the tobacco industry, designed for the manufacture of multi-segment filter rods, containing: a loading unit for spaced placement of rod-like elements (S1, S2) in a chain (ST1) on a wrapper (101) located on a garment belt (5); a feeding unit (103) for feeding bulk material into compartments (105) between the rod-like elements (S1, S2); a cleaning unit (104) for removing impurities from the bulk material (102) from the rod-like elements (S1, S2); a garment unit (6) for wrapping the wrapper (101) around the rod-like elements (S1, S2) and the bulk material to form a continuous filter rod (CR); a cutting head (8) for cutting the continuous rod (CR) into multi-segment filter rods (R); characterized in that: cleaning unit (104) is a unit according to any one of claims. 1-13. 15. A method for cleaning a string (ST2) of rod-shaped elements during the manufacture of filter rods in a machine used in the tobacco industry, wherein the machine used in the tobacco industry is configured to process a moving chain (ST2) of rod-shaped elements (S1, S2) separated compartments (105) and partially wrapped in a wrapper (101), while compartments (105) are filled with bulk material (102) forming segments (SC) of bulk material; the method includes removing impurities from the bulk material (102) in the cleaning zone (Z2) by moving the closure elements (10) to positions in which the closure elements at least partially close the compartments (105) filled with bulk material (102) between rod-shaped elements (S1, S2) during the movement of the chain (ST2) in the immediate vicinity of the cleaning element (11, 11 '), while the closing elements (10) in part of their movement path are moved parallel to the direction (T) of movement of the rod-shaped elements (S1 , S2), the method differs in that: it includes limiting the uncontrolled movement of contaminants from the cleaning zone (Z2) by providing a baffle (34) at the outlet, located at the outlet of the cleaning zone (Z2), above the chain (ST2) of rod-shaped elements, while the baffle (34) at the outlet contains a passage (35 ) through which the closing elements (10) pass.

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