Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-23
2001-05-08
Evans, Geoffrey S. (Department: 1725)
Electric heating
Metal heating
By arc
C219S121730
Reexamination Certificate
active
06229115
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the priority of Patent Application Serial No. 197 22 799.6 filed in Germany on May 30, 1997, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for manipulating webs or strips, especially running webs or strips of wrapping material in machines of the tobacco processing industry. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in methods of and in apparatus for subdividing a running web or strip, e.g., a web of so-called tipping paper, into discrete web portions or sections (the so-called uniting bands) which are to be draped around neighboring ends of groups of coaxial rod-shaped articles to convert such groups into composite rod-shaped articles. Typical examples of composite rod-shaped articles are filter cigarettes wherein a plain cigarette of unit length and a filter plug or filter mouthpiece of unit length are joined end-to-end by an adhesive-coated uniting band of cigarette paper, artificial cork or any other suitable wrapping material.
Apparatus of the present invention can be utilized with advantage in or in conjunction with filter tipping machines which cooperate with cigarette making machines and with filter rod making machines to turn out filter cigarettes, filter cigars or analogous composite rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry.
A modern filter tipping machine comprises a magazine for a supply of filter rod sections of several times unit length, a conveyor system which supplies plain cigarettes of unit length from a so-called maker, a receptacle for a reel of convoluted web of filter tipping material, a system for subdividing filter mouthpieces of multiple unit length into filter mouthpieces or filter plugs of double unit length and for converting such filter plugs into a single file of parallel articles, a system of drums which assemble discrete filter plugs of double unit length and pairs of plain cigarettes of unit length into groups of three coaxial rod-shaped articles (with the filter plug located between the two cigarettes), a paster which provides one side of the web with a film of a suitable adhesive, a mechanism for dividing the running adhesive-coated web of wrapping material into discrete uniting bands, a system which drapes successive uniting bands around the filter plugs and the adjacent ends of the respective pair of plain cigarettes to convert such groups into filter cigarettes of double unit length, and a cutter which subdivides successive filter cigarettes of double unit length into pairs of filter cigarettes of unit length.
It is further customary to provide the web of tipping paper with suitably distributed perforations which permit the inflow of cool atmospheric air into the column of tobacco smoke flowing into the smoker's mouth. Reference may be had, for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,670 (granted Aug. 4, 1981 to Heitmann et al. for “APPARATUS FOR INCREASING THE PERMEABILITY OF WRAPPING MATERIAL FOR ROD-SHAPED SMOKERS' PRODUCTS”). The disclosure of this patent is incorporated herein by reference. Heitmann et al. disclose perforating units which operate with laser beams. The means for subdividing a running web into discrete uniting bands employs a standard suction drum which attracts the leader of the web to its peripheral surface, and a rotary cutter with axially parallel knives which sever a succession of uniting bands from the leader of the perforated web.
German patent application No. 41 22 273 A1 of Andreoli et al. (published Jan. 16, 1992) discloses a web severing apparatus wherein the knife or knives is or are replaced with a laser beam issuing from a source of coherent radiation which further serves to effect a desired perforating operation. Thus, the beam of coherent radiation issuing from the source is split into a first continuous partial beam (which is deflected by a rotary polygonal mirror to follow the moving web in the course of each severing operation), and into a second continuous beam which is directed toward the outlet of the tipping machine and is converted into a sequence of pulses which serve to provide the finished filter cigarettes with perforations in the converted (convoluted) uniting band and/or in the adjacent portion of the tubular wrapper of the plain cigarette. A drawback of such proposal is that the provision of a source of laser beams and of the aforementioned beam splitting, directing, deflecting and pulse generating means contributes significantly to the bulk, cost, complexity and sensitivity (proneness to malfunction) of the tipping machine.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved tipping machine wherein a source of laser beams and the beam manipulating means are much simpler, more reliable and less expensive than in heretofore known tipping machines for the making of composite rod-shaped smokers' products.
Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of severing a running web of tipping paper or the like with a beam of coherent radiation.
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved method of utilizing a single laser beam for the subdivision of a running web into discrete sections (such as uniting bands) of desired length or width as well as for the provision of desired patterns of perforations in the running web and/or in the discrete sections of the web.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved web severing and perforating apparatus which can be embodied in or associated with existing types of web processing machines, e.g., in tipping machines of the type wherein rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry are assembled into filter tipped smokers' products.
Still another object of the invention is to provide the apparatus with novel and improved means for manipulating one or more beams of coherent radiation between a source and selected locations in a tipping machine for the mass-production of filter cigarettes or other types of rod-shaped filter tipped smokers' products.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is designed in such a way that it can provide selected portions of a running web with arrays or sets of perforations which can be altered, if and when necessary, in a simple time saving operation and with a desired degree of accuracy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One feature of the invention resides in the provision of a method of subdividing an elongated web of tipping paper or the like into a succession of discrete web portions (e.g., uniting bands). The improved method comprises the step of subjecting successive spaced-apart transversely extending linear zones of the web to the action of discrete short-lasting flashes of linear coherent radiation to thus sever discrete portions from the web.
Each discrete flash can be utilized to completely sever a discrete portion of the web, i.e., from one to the other marginal portion of such web.
The method can further comprise the step of advancing the web lengthwise in a predetermined direction along a predetermined path to thus locate successive linear zones of the web in a predetermined portion of the path. The subjecting step then comprises directing the discrete flashes against the linear zones of the web in the predetermined portion of the path.
The method can further comprise the step of coating the discrete portions of the web with a suitable adhesive prior to the subjecting step at the predetermined portion of the path.
Still further, the method can comprise the step of exposing selected-regions of the web to the action of additional coherent radiation to thus perforate or puncture the selected regions of the web. Such exposing step can be carried out at least substantially simultaneously with the subjecting step.
Such method can further comprise the step of establishing discrete first and second sources of coherent radiation for the carrying out of the subjectin
Dombek Manfred
Voss Helmut
Evans Geoffrey S.
Hauni Maschinenbau AG
Kinberg Robert
Venable
Voorhees Catherine
LandOfFree
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