U.S. patent application number 10/886600 was filed with the patent office on 2005-02-03 for apparatus for manufacturing rod-shaped tobacco products with a filter, in particular filter cigarettes.
This patent application is currently assigned to Hauni Maschinenbau AG. Invention is credited to Brinkmann, Bernhard, Dombek, Manfred, Folger, Manfred, Grothaus, Frank, Krause, Lothar, Pawelko, Karl-Heinz, Plahn, Dieter, Rottmann, Franz.
Application Number | 20050022830 10/886600 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34089682 |
Filed Date | 2005-02-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050022830 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dombek, Manfred ; et
al. |
February 3, 2005 |
Apparatus for manufacturing rod-shaped tobacco products with a
filter, in particular filter cigarettes
Abstract
Apparatus for making rod-shaped tobacco products with a filter
that includes a tobacco stick delivery device, a filter delivery
device, a covering paper delivery device, a cigarette making
device, a cigarette testing device, and a cigarette dispensing
device. All the devices, in which each device includes at least one
drum, are arranged to form a drum course. A drive element is
structured and arranged to drive at least some of the drums of the
drum course in positional synchronization with the transport of the
rod-shaped tobacco products, and a drum unit is composed of at
least one drum, which is not one of the at least some drums, and a
bearing and control flange. At least one separate additional drive
element is structured and arranged to drive the at least one drum,
and a drive unit is composed of the separate drive element and the
drum unit. The instant abstract is neither intended to define the
invention disclosed in this specification nor intended to limit the
scope of the invention in any way.
Inventors: |
Dombek, Manfred;
(Dassendorf, DE) ; Grothaus, Frank; (Hamburg,
DE) ; Pawelko, Karl-Heinz; (Marschacht, DE) ;
Folger, Manfred; (Hamburg, DE) ; Brinkmann,
Bernhard; (Bornsen, DE) ; Rottmann, Franz;
(Glinde, DE) ; Plahn, Dieter; (Barum, DE) ;
Krause, Lothar; (Hamburg, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GREENBLUM & BERNSTEIN, P.L.C.
1950 ROLAND CLARKE PLACE
RESTON
VA
20191
US
|
Assignee: |
Hauni Maschinenbau AG
Hamburg
DE
|
Family ID: |
34089682 |
Appl. No.: |
10/886600 |
Filed: |
July 9, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
131/76 ;
131/280 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A24C 5/327 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
131/076 ;
131/280 |
International
Class: |
A24C 001/32 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 10, 2003 |
EP |
03 09 0209.2 |
Claims
What is claimed:
1. An apparatus for making rod-shaped tobacco products with a
filter, comprising: a tobacco stick delivery device; a filter
delivery device; a covering paper delivery device; a cigarette
making device; a cigarette testing device; a cigarette dispensing
device, wherein all said devices, in which each device includes at
least one drum, are arranged to form a drum course; a drive element
structured and arranged to drive at least some of the drums of said
drum course in positional synchronization with the transport of the
rod-shaped tobacco products; a drum unit composed of at least one
drum, which is not one of said at least some drums, and a bearing
and control flange; at least one separate additional drive element
structured and arranged to drive said at least one drum; and a
drive unit composed of said separate drive element and said drum
unit.
2. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein the rod-shaped
tobacco products comprise a rod-shaped tobacco product with a
filter.
3. The apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the rod-shaped
tobacco product with a filter comprises filter cigarette.
4. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said separate
additional drive comprises a plurality of additional drives, and
each drum of said drum course, with a bearing and control flange,
forms a drum unit, and wherein each additional drive is associated
with a respective drum unit of said drum course to form independent
drive units.
5. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said separate
additional drive element and said drum unit have a common
through-shaft.
6. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein said common
through-shaft forms a common drive and a drum shaft and includes a
receptacle for said drum.
7. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein said common
through-shaft is double-mounted within the bearing and control
flange.
8. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein said drive
element is arranged on said common through-shaft in a region of a
free end of said shaft.
9. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein said common
through-shaft is cantilever-mounted on a side facing towards said
drive element.
10. The apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein said common
through-shaft is cantilever-mounted at an end of said drive
element.
11. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said separate
drive element comprises is a servo motor.
12. The apparatus in accordance with claim 11, wherein said servo
motor comprises a rotor, a stator, and a shaft encoder.
13. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said drive
element is shielded by a housing.
14. The apparatus in accordance with claim 13, wherein said housing
is smaller in its external dimensions than an opening within a
partition wall of said apparatus.
15. The apparatus in accordance with claim 13, wherein said housing
has a substantially rectangular profile.
16. The apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a
common control system coupled to all of said drive elements.
17. The apparatus in accordance with claim 16, wherein said control
system comprises an integrated single-turn absolute value
device.
18. A drive unit for a rod shaped product producing apparatus,
comprising: a drum unit composed of a bearing and control flange;
and at least one drive element coupled to said drum unit.
19. The drive unit in accordance with claim 18, further comprising
a shaft extending through said bearing and control flange and into
said at least one drive element.
20. The drive unit in accordance with claim 18, wherein said at
least one drive element comprises a stator, a rotor, and a shaft
encoder.
21. The drive unit in accordance with claim 18, wherein said drum
unit further comprises a drum mounted on said bearing and control
flange.
22. A rod-shaped tobacco product production apparatus comprising
the drive unit in accordance with claim 18.
23. The rod-shaped tobacco product production apparatus in
accordance with claim 22, further comprising a plurality of drums,
wherein said plurality of drums are arranged to form a drum course,
and one of said plurality of drums is coupled to said bearing and
control shaft as part of said drum unit.
24. The rod-shaped tobacco product production apparatus in
accordance with claim 23, wherein each drum forms part of a
separate drum unit coupled to a respective drive unit.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn. 119 of European Patent Application No. 03 09 0209.2 filed
Jul. 10, 2003, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by
reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention is concerned with an apparatus for
making rod-shaped tobacco products with a filter, in particular
filter cigarettes, essentially including a tobacco stick delivery
device, a filter delivery device, a covering paper delivery device,
a cigarette making device, a cigarette testing device and a
cigarette dispensing device. All the devices have a plurality of
drums to form a drum course which can be driven by a drive element
in positional synchronization with transport of the rod-shaped
tobacco products within the apparatus.
[0004] 2. Discussion of Background Information
[0005] Apparatuses of this kind are used in the field of the
tobacco industry for making filter cigarettes, filter cigarillos,
etc., and are known as filter-attaching machines. Known apparatuses
have a central drive element. For driving all the drums in
positional synchronization within the apparatus, usually a
mechanical gear mechanism is used. In other known apparatuses, each
drum is assigned a drive, whereby drive and drum in each case form
a separate unit, which are connected to each other by a clutch
device or the like. Also known are apparatuses in which the drive
is an integral part of the drum itself. All apparatuses, however,
have the drawback that they are very complex in construction and
therefore expensive to make. This is caused, in particular, by the
use of a gear mechanism or clutches. The necessity of a gear
mechanism or clutches leads, furthermore, to a long installation
length of the drive element as well as to increased noise
generation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides an apparatus which
is easy to handle and cost-efficient to manufacture, and which
guarantees reliable operation and at the same time allows a compact
design.
[0007] According to the invention, an apparatus of the kind
mentioned hereinbefore includes at least one drum of the drum
course that can be driven with a separate, additional drive
element, such that the separate drive element together with a drum
unit composed of a drum as well as a bearing and control flange
forms a drive unit. Due to this construction, the requirements of
an integrated drive solution and a conventional direct drive
solution, which at first glance are contradictory, are fulfilled.
Due to the construction of the apparatus according to the
invention, a compact drive solution for direct driving of the
drums, which guarantees reliable operation, is proposed. Due to the
integrated concept of designing the drive element and the drum unit
separately from each other and yet as a unit, firstly a very
low-maintenance and assembly/dismounting-friendly apparatus, and
secondly a very compact apparatus is provided.
[0008] Preferably, each drum of the drum course is assigned a
separate drive element, which together with the drum unit in each
case forms an independent drive unit. As a result, in a
particularly economical manner a durable and low-maintenance
apparatus is proposed. Due to the direct driving of all the drums,
a considerable reduction of noise is further achieved. Also,
cleaning as well as adjustment and alignment of the drum are made
easier by manual rotation capacity. Also, the direct driving of all
the drums in the manner according to the invention allows a
selective change of division of the drums.
[0009] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the
drive element and the drum unit have a common through-shaft, as a
result of which clutches for connecting drive element and drum unit
can be dispensed with. Furthermore, a three-point bearing which is
usually necessary is superfluous, as only two bearings have to be
provided for the shaft.
[0010] Advantageously, the drive element is shielded by a housing,
such that the housing is smaller in its external dimensions than an
opening within a partition wall of the apparatus, and has a
substantially rectangular profile cross-section. Thus, a
particularly compact and assembly-friendly design is achieved,
because firstly forward release of the drive unit, that is, in the
direction of the control side, is possible, and secondly a high
packing density of the drums is achieved. The packing density of
the drums can therefore be increased, as the rectangular profile
shape allows the use of small flanges.
[0011] The present invention is directed to an apparatus for making
rod-shaped tobacco products with a filter. The apparatus includes a
tobacco stick delivery device, a filter delivery device, a covering
paper delivery device, a cigarette making device, a cigarette
testing device, and a cigarette dispensing device. All the devices,
in which each device includes at least one drum, are arranged to
form a drum course. A drive element is structured and arranged to
drive at least some of the drums of the drum course in positional
synchronization with the transport of the rod-shaped tobacco
products, and a drum unit is composed of at least one drum, which
is not one of the at least some drums, and a bearing and control
flange. At least one separate additional drive element is
structured and arranged to drive the at least one drum, and a drive
unit is composed of the separate drive element and the drum
unit.
[0012] In accordance with a feature of the invention, the
rod-shaped tobacco products can include a rod-shaped tobacco
product with a filter.
[0013] According to another feature of the invention, the
rod-shaped tobacco product with a filter can include filter
cigarettes.
[0014] Further, the separate additional drive may include a
plurality of additional drives, and each drum of the drum course,
with a bearing and control flange, can form a drum unit. Each
additional drive may be associated with a respective drum unit of
the drum course to form independent drive units.
[0015] According to still another feature of the present invention,
the separate additional drive element and the drum unit can have a
common through-shaft. The common through-shaft may form a common
drive and a drum shaft and includes a receptacle for the drum.
Further, the common through-shaft can be double-mounted within the
bearing and control flange. The drive element may be arranged on
the common through-shaft in a region of a free end of the shaft.
Moreover, the common through-shaft can be cantilever-mounted on a
side facing towards the drive element. The common through-shaft can
be cantilever-mounted at an end of the drive element.
[0016] In accordance with a further feature of the instant
invention, the separate drive element can be is a servo motor, and
the servo motor may include a rotor, a stator, and a shaft
encoder.
[0017] The drive element can be shielded by a housing, and the
housing may be smaller in its external dimensions than an opening
within a partition wall of the apparatus. The housing can have a
substantially rectangular profile.
[0018] The apparatus can further include a common control system
coupled to all of the drive elements. The control system may
include an integrated single-turn absolute value device.
[0019] The instant invention is directed to a drive unit for a rod
shaped product producing apparatus. The drive unit includes a drum
unit composed of a bearing and control flange and at least one
drive element coupled to the drum unit.
[0020] According to a feature of the present invention, a shaft can
extend through the bearing and control flange and into the at least
one drive element.
[0021] Further, the at least one drive element can include a
stator, a rotor, and a shaft encoder.
[0022] According to another feature of the invention, the drum unit
can further include a drum mounted on the bearing and control
flange.
[0023] The invention is directed to a rod-shaped tobacco product
production apparatus that includes the above-discussed drive
unit.
[0024] In accordance with still yet another feature of the present
invention, the apparatus can further include a plurality of drums,
such that the plurality of drums are arranged to form a drum
course, and one of the plurality of drums is coupled to the bearing
and control shaft as part of the drum unit. Further, each drum can
form part of a separate drum unit coupled to a respective drive
unit.
[0025] Other exemplary embodiments and advantages of the present
invention may be ascertained by reviewing the present disclosure
and the accompanying drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0026] The present invention is further described in the detailed
description which follows, in reference to the noted plurality of
drawings by way of non-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments
of the present invention, in which like reference numerals
represent similar parts throughout the several views of the
drawings, and wherein:
[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an apparatus for making
filter cigarettes;
[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a drive unit
consisting of drive element and drum unit;
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the drive unit according
to FIG. 2; and
[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates a sectional view along section A-A of the
drive unit according to FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0031] The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for
purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the
present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing
what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood
description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present
invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural
details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary
for the fundamental understanding of the present invention, the
description taken with the drawings making apparent to those
skilled in the art how the several forms of the present invention
may be embodied in practice.
[0032] The apparatus described below is used for making rod-shaped
tobacco products, in particular for making filter cigarettes.
[0033] The apparatus 10 described in FIG. 1, which is constructed
as a filter-attaching machine, has different functional units,
namely, essentially a tobacco stick delivery device 11, a filter
delivery device 12, a covering paper delivery device 13, a
cigarette making device 14, a cigarette testing device 15 and a
cigarette dispensing device 16. All the above-mentioned devices 11
to 16 have a plurality of drums 17 to form a so-called drum course
18. The drums 17 are arranged adjacent to each other, preferably
parallel and substantially tangentially one beside the other, in
such a way that they are operatively connected to each other.
[0034] All drums 17 can be driven synchronously by a drive system.
Moreover, while not illustrated, several drums 17 can be driven by
means of a common drive, and at least one of the drums 17 can have
a separate, additional drive element 19. Preferably, however, each
drum 17 of the drum course 18 is assigned its own drive element 19.
All the drive element 19 are designed as servo motors for forming a
synchronous machine.
[0035] Below, a single drive element 19 is described by way of
example with the aid of FIG. 4.
[0036] The drive element 19 is composed of conventional components,
such as e.g. a rotor 20, a stator 21 and a shaft encoder 22. The
components 20 to 22 of the drive element 19 are arranged within a
housing 23 which has a substantially rectangular cross-section. The
shaft encoder 22 and the stator 21 are attached firmly but
releasably to the housing 23. The rotor 20 is arranged on a shaft
24. The shaft 24 is the common shaft for the drive element 19 and a
drum unit 27 composed of bearing and control flange 25 and drum 17.
In other words, the shaft 24 is a combined drive and drum shaft.
The shaft 24 is mounted within the hollow, namely tubular-formed
bearing and control flange 25, via conventional ball bearings 28,
29. Other types of bearing can also be used.
[0037] The two ball bearings 28, 29 are arranged at the two
opposite free ends 30, 31 of the bearing and control flange 25. The
shaft 24 has, at its free end 31, a receptacle 40 for the drum 17.
The receptacle 40 can be attached to the shaft 24 in one piece, or
can also be releasably attached to the shaft 24 as a separate
component. At the free end 30 of the bearing and control flange 25
facing towards the drive element 19, the shaft 24 projects out of
the bearing and control flange 25 and extends into the drive
element 19. The rotor 20 is arranged in the region of the
cantilever-mounted end 32 of the shaft 24. The housing 23 is
releasably attached to the bearing and control flange 25, so that
the drive element 19 and the drum unit 27 form a common drive unit
33. The drive unit 33 is releasably attached to a partition wall 34
of the apparatus 10, whereby the bearing and control flange 25 is
positioned on the front side 35 of the apparatus 10 and the drive
element 19 is positioned on the rear side 36. The partition wall 34
has an opening 37 for this. The opening 37 is preferably designed
as a bore, whereby the diameter of the bore is slightly larger than
the external dimensions of the drive element 19 or housing 23. In
other words, the whole drive unit 33 can be assembled and
dismounted from the front side 35 by the fact that fastening bolts
38 are loosened and the drive unit 33 as a whole is removable.
[0038] The common shaft 24 of drive element 19 and drum unit 27 is
double-mounted in the region of the bearing and control flange 25
and is extended to the rear side 36 of the apparatus 10, that is,
into the interior of the machine, without the extended end 32 of
the shaft 24 being mounted again. For this reason the shaft 24 is
of such rigid construction that the rotor 20 positioned on the end
32 does not strike the stator 21. The shaft encoder 22 is arranged
on the housing 23 behind the end 32 of the shaft 24, so that
exchange of the shaft encoder 22 can easily be done without
dismantling the drive element 19. Due to the rigid shaft 24, on the
one hand, and dispensing with clutches, on the other hand, a
maximum torsional rigidity is achieved, which in turn leads to
particularly high control performance, and hence to high
operational and process reliability.
[0039] All the drive element 19 are connected to a common control
system for synchronous actuation. The control system has an
integrated single-turn absolute value device, as a result of which
the position of rotor 20 and drum 17 can always be determined.
[0040] It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided
merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be
construed as limiting of the present invention. While the present
invention has been described with reference to an exemplary
embodiment, it is understood that the words which have been used
herein are words of description and illustration, rather than words
of limitation. Changes may be made within the purview of the
appended claims, as presently stated and as amended, without
departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention in its
aspects. Although the present invention has been described here in
with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the
present invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars
disclosed herein; rather, the present invention extends to all
functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are
within the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *