CIGARETTE BLANK DISPENSING APPARATUS
An apparatus for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine. The apparatus comprises a base having an upper end, a lower end opposite the upper end, a first side, a second side opposite the first side, and a shaker communicating with the base. The base also comprises a retainer for retaining at least one cigarette blank. Also disclosed is a method for separating and dispensing cigarette blanks.
This invention related generally to an apparatus for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for separating cigarette blanks from a plurality of cigarette blanks and dispensing the separated cigarette blanks to a loading area. The invention also relates to methods of using a cigarette blank dispensing apparatus.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPrior to the invention of the electronic rolling machine, rolling your own cigarettes was restricted to manual table top machines, hand held machines, and attempts that have been made to perfect personal single stick electric machines. These machines employ a chamber for loading tobacco, a manual lever that compresses the tobacco, and a spoon mechanism that injects the tobacco into an empty preassembled cigarette blank. Many attempts have been made with varying degrees of success to perfect a table top electric machine. These basically employed the same technology, only electronically enhanced. The shortcoming is that the spoon mechanism shreds the tobacco. Secondly, loading the proper amount of tobacco each time is extremely variable. The other obvious drawback is the tedious nature of the process; each cigarette blank must be mounted on a nozzle manually. Moreover, the empty cigarette blanks are extremely fragile and easily damaged during the process.
While other electronic machines for use in retail settings have been developed, there remain drawbacks with those machines. First, separating the cigarette blanks for individual loading onto a filling tube remains imprecise. Secondly, loading the fragile cigarette blanks unto filling tubes often results in damaged and unusable cigarette blanks.
What is needed is an apparatus and method for separating and loading the cigarette blanks on a machine in a retail setting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine, comprising a base having an upper end, a lower end opposite said upper end, a first side, and a second side opposite said first side, and a shaker communicating with said base, wherein said base comprises a retainer for retaining at least one cigarette blank.
This invention also relates to an apparatus for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine, comprising a base having an upper end, a lower end opposite said upper end, a first side, and a second side opposite said first side, wherein said base comprises a retainer for retaining at least one cigarette blank, a shaker communicating with said base, and a cartridge for receiving a plurality of cigarette blanks, wherein said cartridge is mountable on said base.
This invention further relates to a method for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine, comprising providing a base comprising a retainer for retaining at least one cigarette blank, said base having an upper end, a lower end opposite said upper end, a first side, and a second side opposite said first side, providing a shaker communicating with said base, holding a plurality of cigarette blanks on said base, shaking said cigarette blanks, retaining with said retainer at least one cigarette blank, and dispensing a cigarette blank to a loading area
A cigarette making apparatus 10 is illustrated in
The input hopper 100, illustrated in
In operation, cut tobacco is poured into the tobacco inlet 102 of the input hopper 100. The cut tobacco falls onto the input end 109 of the conveyor 103 and is thereby transferred toward the strand separator 110 and discharge end 108 of the conveyor 103. After going through the strand separator 110, the cut tobacco is discharged from the input hopper 100 through a discharge opening 115.
In operation, the receiving hopper 215 receives cut tobacco from the discharge opening 115 of the input hopper 100 described above. As an inward side 213 of conveyor 202 and an inward side 214 of conveyor 205 move downward, cut tobacco is received from the receiving hopper 215, compressed by conveyors 202 and 205, and ultimately transferred to a compressor device 250.
The tobacco compressing device 250 illustrated in
In operation, the downwardly moving inner sides 213 and 214 of conveyors 202 and 205, respectively, partially compress cut tobacco and deliver it to the compression cavity 253. The conveyors 202 and 205 run for a period of time to deliver an amount of cut tobacco into the compression cavity 253, and then stop. The amount of tobacco that is delivered into the compression cavity 253 may be within a predetermined range, with the exact amount being established by the operator of the machine depending on individual preferences, which may include, among other things, the operator's preferred “draw” of the cigarette. Then, the piston 261 pushes the first compression plate 251, by way of piston rod 262, toward the second compression plate 252, further compressing the tobacco in the tobacco cavity 253. As the first compression plate 251 moves toward the second compression plate 252, the top edge 257 of the first compression plate 251 meets the cutting edge 264 of the knife 263. The cut tobacco in the compression cavity 253 is then sheared from the cut tobacco in the tobacco conveying zone 214. The first compression plate 251 continues to move toward the second compression plate 252, thereby forming a tobacco plug 265. The first compression plate 251 then retreats slightly away from the second compression plate 252, allowing a tobacco plug insertion pin 501 (
Various means may be used to provide a collapsible guide head. In the embodiment 370 shown in
Referring to
This description describes filling tube 350 and the features in the drum 401 associated with filling tube 350. Other filling tubes mounted in the drum will typically be mounted in a similar manner, and the drum typically will have similar features for each of the other filling tubes. One method of attaching a filling tube 350 to a drum 401 is a clamping device 408 against the shoulder 355 on a first end 351 of the filling tube 350. Alternatively, other means for attaching the filling tubes to a filling tube holder may be used. For example, the filling tubes and the plurality of holes in the holder for receiving the filling tubes may be threaded. Additionally, other methods instead of a drum may be used for holding a plurality of tubes, for instance, the filling tubes may be mounted on a plate or on a belt.
Axially aligned with the filling tube hole 404 is a conical directing hole 411, having a proximal end 412 and a distal end 413. The distal end 413 of the cone shaped hole defines the larger diameter of the cone, and the diameter of the proximal end of the cone shaped hole is slightly larger than the outside diameter of a cigarette blank (discussed later).
As noted above, the sensor 601 determines whether a cigarette blank is loaded properly onto a filling tube before injecting a tobacco plug into the filling tube and cigarette tube. If an improperly loaded cigarette blank is found, the cigarette blank is not injected with a tobacco plug and the improperly loaded cigarette blank continues to rotate on the drum, eventually arriving at the cigarette tube rejection location.
Referring now to
In operation, a user turns the cartridge 310 upside down so that the bottom 316 is on the top, and opens fully the bottom 316. The user then sets a full box of cigarette blanks into the cartridge 310. Thereafter, the user may tear the top from the cigarette carton and close the cartridge bottom 316. The loaded cartridge is then ready for loading into the cartridge tube separator device 300.
The mounting and operation of the first side plate 331 will be described herein, and the mounting and operation of the opposing second side plate (not shown) is substantially similar to that of the first side plate 331. A cross bar 336 ties the first side plate 331 to the second side plate (not shown). The cross bar 336 has a cartridge tab receiving area 337 for receiving the mounting tab 320 disposed on the second end wall 312 of the cartridge box 321. The first side plate 331 has an upper end 332 that is pivotally mounted at a pivot point 338 adjacent to the upper end 328 of the base plate 326. A portion 335 of the first side plate 331 rides on an eccentric cam 333 that rotates about a camshaft 334. The cam shaft may be driven by a motor (not shown) or by other means available to impart a rotational action upon the camshaft 334.
As the cam 333 rotates about the camshaft 334, the first side plate 331 and opposing second side plate (not shown) pivot about pivot point 338, thereby resulting in the lower end 339 of the first side plate 331 and the lower end of the second side plate moving along an upward arc 340. The cross bar 336, being affixed between the first side plate 331 and the second side plate, moves upward. The cartridge box 321 also moves upward, because the mounting tab 320 of the cigarette blank loading cartridge 310 has been received in the cartridge tab receiving area 337 of the cross bar 336.
The lower end 327 of the base plate 326 abuts a shaking assembly 380. In one embodiment, the shaking assembly 380 has a shaking plate 381 pivotably mounted a top end 383 to a frame 382. The shaking plate 381 may be shook by a variety of methods, and one method of shaking the plate is by an eccentric cam 384. In operation, the rotation of the eccentric cam pivots the plate about the top end 383 of the shaking plate 381, thereby shaking a plurality of cigarette blanks 390. Typically, the lower end 385 of the shaking plate 381 is at a sufficient distance above the base plate 326 to allow a lowest plurality of cigarette blanks 396 to pass between the base plate 326 and the lower end 385 of the shaking plate 381.
The plurality of cigarette blanks 390 has a first row 387, a second row 388 and upper rows 389. As the shaking plate 381 advances towards the upper end 328 of the base plate 326, because of the rotation of the cam 384, the shaking plate 381 pushes the plurality of cigarette blanks 390 toward the upper end 328 of the base plate 326. The base plate 326, has a retainer 391 for maintaining the position of the cigarette blanks once they move to the lower end 392 of the retainer 391. By shaking the second row 388 and the upper rows 389 of a plurality of cigarettes blanks 390, the shaking plate breaks up the pyramidal structure 393 that ordinarily forms between successive rows of cigarettes. Additionally, the retainer 391 keeps the lower plurality of cigarette blanks 396 from moving toward the upper end 328 of the base plate 326, furthering the shaker's effectiveness in breaking the pyramidal structure 393.
The cigarette blank loading area 394 has in it a cigarette blank 395 ready to be loaded onto a filling tube 350 as depicted in
Referring back to
The cigarette blank separating device 300 separates a cigarette blank 395 from the plurality of tubes in the cartridge 310, allowing a cigarette blank to flow into the loading area 394 as shown in
Referring again to
After a tobacco plug is successfully injecting into a filling tube 350 having on it a cigarette blank, the drum 401 continues to index forward in the direction of arrow 602, whereupon the filling tube 350 will arrive at a completed cigarette ejection position 604. Once there, an ejection rod 503 will eject the completed cigarette from the filling tube 350, as shown in
If the sensor 601 has found an improperly loaded cigarette blank, then the drum 401 with the filling tube 350 holding the improperly loaded cigarette blank will continue to index forward on in the direction of arrow 602, skipping the tobacco injection process and the completed cigarette ejection process, whereupon it arrives at an improperly loaded tube rejection area 605. Thereafter, a rejection pin 502 pushes the improperly loaded cigarette blank off of the filling tube. (
After the above discussed process is complete and a completed cigarette is made (or an improperly loaded cigarette blank is rejected), the filling tube is ready to receive a new cigarette blank. Typically, the above discussed process will produce 25 completed cigarettes a minutes with less than 4 rejected cigarettes per 100 completed.
The plurality of filling tubes on the drum 401 allows the above steps to take place concurrently. For instance, a cigarette blank may be inserted on a filling tube at the same time a tobacco plug is being injected into another filling tube, which may be occurring at the same time a completed cigarette is being rejected from a filling tube, which may be occurring at the same time an improperly loaded cigarette blank is being rejected. Additionally, the tobacco conveying and compressing and the cigarette blank separating may also be occurring concurrently with the above steps.
Another embodiment of a guide head and a pin is shown in
As illustrated in
A first end 720 of the hollow tube 702 is affixed to the collar 704 of the spring shaft 703, and a second end 733 of the hollow tube 702 receives the guide head 701. An internal bore 719 of the spring shaft 703 communicates with a hollow central portion 721 of the hollow tube 702. A pin 707 has a first end 715 that is affixed to a back end 718 of the body 706. The pin 707 passes through the internal bore 719 of the spring shaft 703, through the hollow tube 702, and terminates in the guide head 701. Friction reduction members 722 and 723 may be disposed in the internal bore 719 of the spring shaft 703 to guide the pin 707.
A second end 724 of the pin 707 terminates in a conical head portion 725 of the guide head 701. The conical head portion 725 has a conical internal cavity 726 that is sized to receive the second end 724 of the pin 707 when the conical head portion is in a collapsed configuration and further has an internal cavity 727 that is smaller than the second end 724 of the pin 707. The guide head 701 may have a plurality of longitudinal slots similar to the embodiment of a guide head shown in
In operation, the guide head 701 is passed through the filling tube until the conical head portion 725 passes through the second end 352 of the filling tube 350, at which time means for stopping the spring shaft 703 acts to stop the forward movement of the spring shaft 703, the hollow tube 702, and the guide head 701. Thereafter, the body 706 continues to move forward a distance 730 to extend the second end 724 of the pin 707 into the internal cavity 727 of the conical head portion 725, thereby expanding the conical head portion 725 of the guide head 701. A cigarette blank may then be inserted over the conical head portion 725 and onto the filling tube 350. The body 706 is then retracted, thereby retracting the second end 724 of the pin 707 from the internal cavity 727 and allowing the conical head portion 725 to return to its collapsed configuration. The retraction of the body 706 continues, extracting the tube 702 and the guide head 701 from the filling tube 350.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrated examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
Claims
1. An apparatus for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine, comprising:
- a base having an upper end, a lower end opposite said upper end, a first side, and a second side opposite said first side, and
- a shaker communicating with said base,
- wherein said base comprises a retainer for retaining at least one cigarette blank.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said retainer comprises a step.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said retainer comprises fingers.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said shaker is located at said lower end of said base.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said shaker is a plate.
6. The apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said shaker is driven by an eccentric cam.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus is configured to hold a plurality of cigarette blanks.
8. An apparatus for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine, comprising:
- a base having an upper end, a lower end opposite said upper end, a first side, and a second side opposite said first side, wherein said base comprises a retainer for retaining at least one cigarette blank,
- a shaker communicating with said base, and
- a cartridge for receiving a plurality of cigarette blanks, wherein said cartridge is mountable on said base.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said retainer comprises a step.
10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said retainer comprises fingers.
11. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said shaker is located at said lower end of said base.
12. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said shaker is a plate.
13. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said shaker is driven by an eccentric cam.
14. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said cartridge is configured to receive a plurality of boxed cigarette blanks without having to remove the cigarette blanks from the box.
15. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said cartridge is mechanically openable, allowing cigarette blanks to be dispensed from said cartridge after mounting said cartridge on said base.
16. A method for dispensing cigarette blanks in a cigarette manufacturing machine, comprising:
- providing a base comprising a retainer for retaining at least one cigarette blank, said base having an upper end, a lower end opposite said upper end, a first side, and a second side opposite said first side,
- providing a shaker communicating with said base,
- holding a plurality of cigarette blanks on said base,
- shaking said cigarette blanks,
- retaining with said retainer at least one cigarette blank, and
- dispensing a cigarette blank to a loading area.
17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising,
- providing a cartridge for receiving a plurality of boxed cigarette blanks without having to remove the cigarette blanks from the box.
18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising,
- mechanically opening said cartridge for allowing the flow of cigarette blanks after mounting of said cartridge on said base.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 15, 2009
Publication Date: Jan 20, 2011
Inventor: Jacques LAPLANTE (Niles, OH)
Application Number: 12/503,522
International Classification: B65D 83/02 (20060101);