Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor system having auxiliary section for storing items...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-15
2002-05-21
Noland, Kenneth W. (Department: 3651)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor system having auxiliary section for storing items...
C198S367000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06390273
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES
This application claims the priority of commonly owned German patent application Serial No. 199 38 542.4 filed Aug. 18, 1999. The disclosure of the above-referenced German patent application, as well as that of each U.S. and/or foreign patent and patent application identified in the specification of the present application, is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for manipulating mass flows (multiple-layer flows) of elongated articles (particularly rod-shaped articles) which are to be advanced, by moving sideways, from one or more makers or other source or sources to one or more processing or consuming units (such as packing, filter tipping or other types of machines). Typical examples of elongated articles which are or must often be conveyed in the form of a mass flow are plain or filter cigarettes or other rod-shaped products of the tobacco processing industry. For example, it is frequently desirable to convey a mass flow of plain cigarettes from a maker (e.g., a machine known as PROTOS which is distributed by the assignee of the present application) to a so-called tipping machine wherein pairs of plain cigarettes of unit length are assembled with filter mouthpieces of multiple unit length to form therewith filter cigarettes of double unit length. A tipping machine of such character is known as MAX and is distributed by the assignee of the present application. Reference may also be had to commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,008 granted Aug. 4, 1992 to Oesterling et al. for “METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILTER CIGARETTES”.
It is often necessary (e.g., due to the configuration and/or the dimensions of the space which is available for the installation of a mass flow conveying unit) to deflect the mass flow, once or more than once, on its way from a source to a processing station. This involves the establishment of mutually inclined first and second paths and of a deflecting station between the two paths. The instrumentalities at the deflecting station serve to direct successive increments of the mass flow from one of the paths into the other path, e.g., from the discharge end of a substantially horizontal path into the upper end of a downwardly extending upright path. As a rule, a cover is provided to at least partially overlie those increments of the mass flow which advance through or along the deflecting station. The cover is designed with a view to ensure that it is capable of “breathing”, i.e., of expanding and contracting in dependency upon the fluctuations of quantities of articles in those portions of the mass flow which are in the process of advancing through the deflecting station. The present invention relates to improvements in the just described apparatus which are designed to convey a mass flow from a first path, through a deflecting station, and into a second path which is inclined relative to the first path.
In accordance with a prior proposal, plain or filter cigarettes are conveyed from a maker or from a tipping machine to a packing machine in the form of a mass flow along a normally horizontal first path, through a deflecting station, and into a downwardly extending second path which compels the cigarettes to descend into a magazine of the packing machine. A collapsible cover at the deflecting station comprises several cigarette-contacting baffles as well as one or more additional cigarette-contacting parts.
German patent No. 36 30 028 discloses an apparatus which is designed to change the direction of movement of a mass flow of cigarettes through 90° on their way into a so-called tray filling machine, e.g., a machine disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,254 granted Apr. 21, 1992 to Tolasch et al. for “APPARATUS FOR FILLING AND EMPTYING TRAYS FOR ROD-SHAPED ARTICLES OF THE TOBACCO PROCESSING INDUSTRY”. The apparatus of the German patent employs a “breathing” cover which overlies the topmost layer of articles at the deflecing station and comprises a membrane which is attached to two carriers pivotable about discrete neighboring axes. When the articles of the mass flow pile up at the inlet (upper end) of the upright path serving to receive articles which have advanced through the deflecting station, the topmost layer of the articles at such station causes the membrane to yield and to penetrate into a reservoir. Such yielding of the membrane entails a pivoting of the aforementioned carriers. A drawback of the just described patented apparatus is that the useful life of the membrane is rather short as well as that the reservoir constitutes a bulky component which occupies a substantial amount of space at the deflecting station irrespective of whether or not it is in use, i.e., whether or not it receives a portion of the membrane and a certain quantity of rod-shaped articles at the deflecting station. Moreover, the articles which have entered the reservoir are likely to dwell therein for extended periods of time.
Another conventional deflecting apparatus is disclosed in published German patent application Serial No. 28 41 266. This apparatus serves to convey a mass flow of cigarettes along a horizontal path to a level above the magazine of a packing machine. The cover for the cigarettes at the deflecting station above the magazine employs a membrane which is attached to a single carrier. The arrangement is such that the carrier is connected to one side of the membrane at the receiving (upstream) end of the deflecting station; the other side of the membrane (at the downstream end of the deflecting station) is attached to a spring which causes the under-side of the membrane to bear upon the topmost layer of the mass flow between the upstream and downstream ends of the deflecting station. In the event of a pileup at the discharge end of the deflecting station (i.e., at the upper end of the duct discharging into the magazine of the packing machine), the topmost layer of cigarettes bears upon the underside of the membrane which yields against the opposition of the aforementioned spring. A sensor which overlies the membrane detects such displacement of the membrane and generates a signal which is used to vary the speed of a prime mover (such as a motor) serving to regulate the speed of the conveyor which delivers successive increments of the mass flow along the horizontal path and to the inlet of the deflecting station. A drawback of the just described deflecting apparatus is that it employs a membrane, i.e., a cover the useful life of which is relatively short, as well as that the spring-biased membrane is apt to deform the adjacent cigarettes when it is called upon to yield due to a pileup of cigarettes at the inlet of the aforementioned duct.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the instant invention is to provide a deflecting apparatus which can treat the rod-shaped articles of a mass flow of such articles gently and which is provided with a novel and improved cover for the topmost layer of articles advancing through the deflecting station between an article-delivering first conveyor and an article-receiving second conveyor.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which constitutes an improvement over and a further development of deflecting apparatus disclosed in German patent No. 35 30 028.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a deflecting apparatus which need not employ a membrane as a cover or as a part of the cover for rod-shaped articles at the deflecting station.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a machine or production line which employs the improved deflecting apparatus.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a deflecting apparatus which is simpler and more compact than presently known deflecting apparatus for successive increments of mass flows of cigarettes and analogous rod-shaped articles.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which can be readily installed in existing machines or production lines as a superior substitute for conventional d
Hauni Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft
Kinberg Robert
Noland Kenneth W.
Venable
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