Testing devices for cigarette packing machines

Abstract

A testing device on cigarette packaging machines for testing the ends of cigarettes disposed in a group and having a plurality of tappets, corresponding to the number of cigarettes and being supported in a holder and being axially slidable against spring biasing to bias the ends of the cigarettes and being adapted to trigger a control pulse if a cigarette is missing or faulty, wherein the tappets directly engage a control jet.

Description

The invention relates to a testing device on a cigarette packaging machines for testing the ends of cigarettes disposed in a group and has a plurality of tappets, corresponding to the number of cigarettes and being supported in a holder and being axially slidable against spring biasing to bias the ends of the cigarettes and being adapted to trigger a control pulse if a cigarette is missing or faulty.

Testing devices of this kind are used for the packaging of cigarettes disposed in groups in such a way that the holder with the tappet is driven against the end of the cigarettes. To this end the tappets are biased against spring loading and are axially displaced. If a cigarette is missing or if a cigarette is provided with insufficient tobacco, there will be no displacement or a reduced displacement of the affected tappet. Accordingly, a control signal is produced which acts on the packaging machine in the sense of eliminating the cigarette group which has been defined as being faulty.

Transversely projecting control vanes are provided on the tappets of a known testing device of this kind. The ends of these vanes which are distal with respect to the tappets are engaged by a transversely orientated light beam which energises a light-sensitive cell when this is allowed to pass by displacement of the vanes. To this end, the control vanes are guided in a slit of a housing at the end which is distal with respect to the tappet.

Due to the provision of separate control vanes such a testing device is relatively complicated and trouble-prone. Due to the projecting vanes which are fixedly joined to the tappets the latter are not freely movable, namely rotatable but are retained in a defined position which may cause jamming and faulty indications in view of the low biasing forces involved. The control vanes and the guiding thereof in slits creates an additional source of faults due to the unavoidable pollution with dust which occurs in such testing devices. A substantial amount of dust occurs particularly with testing devices of the kind described hereinabove, such dust also ingressing into the apparatus since it is not possible for the tappets to be supported without clearance.

It is the object of the present invention to propose a testing device whose particularly simple construction gives rise to only slight sources of faults and breakdowns and is particularly unaffected by the effects of dust.

The testing device according to the invention is characterised in that the tappets are directly engageable by means of a control jet. To this end, the jet may be a light beam--as is already known--but according to the invention it may also be an air jet which acts transversely to the tappets. The shape of the tappets is such that a specific axial displacement thereof releases the control jet for biasing a suitable receiver.

Separate, additional parts on the tappets provided exclusively for engagement by means of a light beam are therefore absent in the device according to the invention. Direct engagement of the tappets enables these to move freely, also rotatably in their supports and they may thus be particularly accurately matched to the testing forces which act on them.

When using an air jet as testing medium, the air may also be utilised for continuous cleaning of the apparatus and for keeping the latter free of dust. To this end, the control jet is conducted through ducts which extend transversely to the tappets.

Further details of the invention are explained hereinbelow by reference to embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and in which

FIG. 1 is a testing device according to the invention, shown partially as a vertical section,

FIG. 2 shows the testing device according to FIG. 1 as a rear view,

FIG. 3 is another embodiment of the testing device in a position according to FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 shows the testing device according to FIG. 3 as a rear view.

The testing device is provided for testing cigarettes 11 which are grouped into a block 10. One end of the cigarettes 11 faces the testing device and they are biased thereby.

The testing device is provided with a plurality of tappets 13, 14, 15 such plurality corresponding to the number of cigarettes 11 of a block. The tappets 13, 14, 15 are disposed in the testing device 12 so that they strike the cigarette ends when the testing device 12 is advanced against the block 10.

The tappets 13, 14, 15 are axially slidably supported in a holder 16 which is constructed as a hollow member. The tappets 13, 14, 15 are supported with the required clearance in a front wall 17 nearest to the cigarettes 11 and in a rear wall 18 which is disposed at a distance from the front wall. The ends of the tappets 13, 14, 15, which are associated with the cigarettes, are provided with a tappet head 19 which extends as far as the holder 16. One end of a compression spring bears on the inside of the tappet head 19 and the other end bears upon the inside of the rear wall 18. The tappet head 19 is adjoined by a tappet rod 21 of smaller diameter which accommodates the compression spring 20 and extends through the rear wall 18. A control head 22 of larger diameter adjoins the end of the tappet bar 21 which is distal with respect to the tappet head 19.

The front wall 17 and the rear wall 18 are provided with apertures 23 and 24 for admitting the tappet head 19 or the tappet bar 21 respectively. The appropriately dimensioned rear wall 18 is also provided with recesses 25 which are open towards the rear and in which the control heads 22 of the tappets 13, 14, 15 are accommodated.

The tappets 13, 14, 15, namely their control heads 22, are engaged by a control jet. The said control jet extends in a control duct 26 which is oriented transversely to the tappets 13, 14, 15 or in a plurality of control ducts 27, 28, 29 which are transversely orientated. The control ducts 26 or 27, 28, 29 respectively are disposed in the rear wall 18 of the holder 16 in the zone of the recesses 25 and are therefore disposed in the zone of the control heads 22, this being the starting position.

Air is provided as control medium in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Accordingly, an air jet is connected through a continuous control duct 26. The inlet and exit side of the holder 16 is provided with connections 30 and 31 of air ducts for the control air. A receiver (not shown), which is biasable by the air jet, is disposed on the exit side and produces the required signal.

The control duct 26 may be disposed at the level of the longitudinal median axis of the tappets 13, 14, 15 or of the recesses 25 respectively. In the starting position, all ends of the control duct 26 on the recesses 25 are closed by the control heads 22. Axial displacement of the tappets 13, 14, 15 from the side of the tappet heads 19 against the compression springs 20 opens the ends of the control duct 26 at the recesses 25, this being the tappets 13 and 15 in FIG. 1, thus enabling the air control jet to pass through. In the illustration according to FIG. 1 the tappet 14 is insufficiently biased because of a faulty cigarette. The continuous control duct 26 for the air control jet is not allowed to pass at this position, namely in the zone of the control head 22 which is associated with the tappet 14 so that a corresponding signal is produced which results in the cigarette block 10 being ejected.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 operates with a light control beam. To this end, a separate, rectilinear control duct 27, 28, 29 is provided for each row of tappets 13, 14, 15. Light transmitters 32, more particularly luminescence diodes and light receivers 33, more particularly photo transistors, are disposed at the ends of the control ducts. The control ducts 27, 28 and 29 are eccentrically disposed relative to the longitudinal axis of the tappets 13, 14, 15 so that the light control beam is able to pass by the tappet bars 21 when the control head 22 is displaced.

The embodiment according to FIG. 3 and 4 can also be utilised for air control jets if the connections are suitably disposed. It is also possible to provide the control ducts 27, 28, 29 with connections for flushing air in addition to the light control device according to FIGS. 3 and 4, that is to say to flush such ducts constantly with air the purpose of the ducts however being to keep the testing device 12 free of impurities, more particularly dust.

The tappets 13, 14, 15 are supported with clearance in the apertures 23 and 24 or in the recesses 25 respectively so that the air control jet according to FIGS. 1 and 2 of separately supplied air is able to ingress into the interior of the holder 16 and is able to discharge therefrom via the aperture 23. Air is also discharged outwardly in the zone of the control heads 22 thus achieving complete air flushing for the device.

Claims

I claim;

1. A testing device for cigarette packaging machines for simultaneously testing the ends of cigarettes disposed in a group, said device comprising a support housing having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, tappet means slidably disposed in said apertures, control head means connected to one end of said tappet means, open recess means for receiving said control head means therein, biasing means acting on said tappet means to normally dispose said control head means in said recess means, a plurality of passages, each passage intersecting a plurality of said recess means, light source means and light detector means mounted at opposite ends of each passage for providing and receiving a light beam when all of said control head means are forced out of said recess means upon engagement of said tappet means with a perfect group of cigarettes, one or more of said light beams being interrupted upon engagement of one or more faulty cigarettes by one or more of said tappet means so that said control head means remains in said recess means.

2. A testing device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said light source means are comprised of luminescent diodes at one end of each passage and said light detector means are comprised of a pluraltiy of photo-transistors disposed at the opposite ends of each passage respectively.

3. A testing device for a cigarette packaging machine for simultaneously testing the ends of cigarettes disposed in a group, said device comprising a support housing having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough and having a larger diameter and smaller diameter portion tappet means slidably disposed in said apertures and having a larger diameter portion and a smaller diameter portion, passage means interconnecting said larger diameter portions of said apertures transversely thereof, means for supplying an air control stream through said passage means and means normally biasing said tappet means such that said larger diameter portion interrupts the flow of air through said passage means whereby when said tappet means are moved into pressure engagement with said cigarettes all of said tappet means will be shifted against said biasing means to shift said larger diameter portion of said tappet means out of alignment with said passage means to allow the flow of air therethrough, said flow of air being interrupted by the presence of one or more faulty cigarettes in said group so that said larger diameter portion of said tappet means is not shifted out of alignment with said passage means to provide a control signal.

4. A testing device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said tappet means are arranged in a plurality of rows and said air passage means is comprised of a single continuous air passage interconnecting all of said apertures.

5. A testing device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said tappet means are supported with clearance in said apertures so that air passing through said passage means is permitted to pass along said apertures axially of said tappet means to clean out any foreign particles which might accumulate in said apertures.