Abstract: On a continuously operating cigarette packing machine, a group of cigarettes is transferred from a pocket—integral with an endless conveyor having at least one substantially straight portion—to a first seat—carried on an input wheel of a wrapping line and movable with respect to the input wheel—by transferring the group axially from the pocket to a second seat, which is fed by an intermediate wheel along a portion of the endless conveyor and is movable with respect to the intermediate wheel; and by then orienting the first and second seats with respect to the respective wheels so that one of the first and second seats penetrates the other for a given time.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for producing (cigarette) packs with supporting protrusions (17), formed within the pack, above a base wall (16), the supporting protrusions (17) being formed by folding webs (19). The folding webs (19) or folding tabs are pre-folded or folded definitively, during the (customary) transportation of the blanks along a blank path (25), by corresponding folding elements, in particular by a folding wheel (32) with a folding protrusion (34) which folds the folding web (19).

Abstract: The cardboard blanks for conversion into hinged-lid packets for arrays of cigarettes are dimensioned and configurated in such a way that an elongated reinforcing strip at the inner side of the front panel of the lid is longer than the front panel. Those terminal sections of the reinforcing strip which extend beyond the ends of the front panel in a blank are bent prior to or during the folding of the reinforcing strip against the inner side of the front panel so that they do not adversely affect the configuration of the lateral panels of the lid and the appearance of a finished packet because the lateral panels are not caused to bulge outwardly.

Abstract: Process and apparatus for folding or shaping a continuous material web (10) made of thin packaging material. In this case, the material web (10) is directed through a shaping subassembly (27) which uses fixed shaping elements, namely shaping webs (46, 47 and 50, 52) and a mating web (53), to deform the material web (10) during transportation of the same.

Abstract: Pack with an outer wrapping consisting of transparent or clear packaging material and with a tear-open tape having a gripping end. For the coloured marking of the gripping end of the tear-open tape, there is applied to the latter a strip (15) which is detached from a material tape (17) and which is colour-contrasted relative to the tear-open tape and which thus marks the gripping end. In this case, the strip (15) is gripped by a holding segment (43) of a conveying roller (26) and is supplied to a film web (13) in order to bear on the latter. For the transfer of the strip (15) onto the film web (13), the holding segment (43) is moved in the radial direction, in order to overcome a clearance until it comes to bear on the film web (13).

Abstract: Apparatus, in particular packaging machine, with movable members which are exposed to wearing stresses on one side.Primarily packaging machines for the manufacture of cigarette packs (10) of the soft-cup type employ folding mandrels (15), on which blanks (14) are temporarily fixed by means of pressure members, in particular by means of pressure rods (19). These are exposed to wearing stresses on one side, specifically in the region in which they bear on the folding mandrel (15). In order to avoid operating faults caused thereby, the pressure member, specifically the pivoting lever (20), is adjusted from time to time, specifically by partial rotation, so that, after a particular operating period, another circumferential region of the pivoting lever (20) is exposed to wearing stress.

Abstract: A packing machine for producing semi-finished packets of cigarettes having respective blanks of packing material and respective wrappings, wherein a forming drum rotates continuously about a given axis to form the packets by partially folding the blanks about the respective wrappings; the drum being located along a packing path having an input branch, an output branch, and an intermediate branch defined by the drum and extending substantially in a spiral about the given axis; the input branch and the output branch being straight and tangent to the intermediate branch; and the drum having a number of orienting assemblies for feeding the packets to the output branch with respective longitudinal axes of the packets oriented parallel to an output direction.

Abstract: A method of continuously wrapping products, whereby at least one seat for a respective product is fed continuously along a given path together with a respective retaining element for retaining a respective sheet of wrapping material, which is supplied in such a manner that a first portion is positioned over the seat, and a second portion is engaged by the retaining element; a product is inserted continuously inside the seat so as to fold at least the first portion of the sheet substantially in a U; and the retaining element is so moved as to fold at least part of the second portion of the sheet about the product.

Abstract: A package for cigarettes and the like comprises a honey-comb structure which defines a plurality of elongated parallel cells each for receiving a respective cigarette. The structure includes two opposite walls which close said cells at their ends, one of these end walls being adapted to be opened to low access to the cells containing the cigarettes.

Abstract: A half-carton container for cigarette packs, formed from a unitary blank, having windows formed in a first wall to display and facilitate the removal of the contained goods and having partitions hingedly attached to the first wall and secured to a second wall to support the half-carton structure and to partition and hold in place the contained goods. The half-carton container can be paired with another half-carton by attachment or by placing in a full-carton container such that they can be tax-stamped as a pair and later easily separated for sale as independent units.

Abstract: In the production of packs, especially hinge-lid packs, from rigid packaging material (thin cardboard), hitherto individual blanks have been supplied in stacks and introduced into the packaging machine in succession. To make the handling of the blanks easier and to increase the storage capacity, the blanks (23) are now connected to one another via residual connections (25) into a continuous web of material (24) wound as a reel (30). Within the packaging machine, the blanks are severed from the web of material (23) in succession, specifically as a result of the elimination of the residual connections, preferably by being torn off. The residual connections (25) are formed in a region of the blanks (23) or in the region of folding tabs of the latter which, in the finished pack (hinge-lid pack), are concealed by other folding tabs, that is to say are on the inside.

Abstract: Apparatus for the packaging of cigarettes by successively folding inner and outer wrappers about a hollow open-ended mandrel, plural of the mandrels being supported from a rotary turret which is moved in step-wise fashion, which enables the use of a metalized foil as the inner wrapper. The apparatus establishes communication between a low pressure source and the interior of the mandrel during at least a portion of the wrapper folding procedure with the resulting suction being applied to the inner wrapper via an open end of the mandrel and through an array of holes provided in the side of the mandrel where opposite free ends of the inner wrapper are positioned after folding.

Abstract: Apparatus for producing packs from at least one foldable blank, especially soft-cup cigarette packs, in which, in a transfer station, individual blanks can be fed by means of a feed unit with a blank-holder to a receptacle (hollow mandrel) of a folding turret and can be transported by this in order to make folds, each blank (21, 22) for taking up by a receptacle (hollow mandrel 23) of the folding turret (20) is held so as to project freely on one side by the blank-holder (holding disc 68) fixed in place and arranged outside the path of movement of the receptacles (23).

Abstract: A method for obtaining wrapper sheet blanks from a continuous web having opposite parallel edges, wherein each blank is composed of first and second portions, the first portion having the shape of a rectangle and the second portion having the shape of a non-rectangular parallelogram joined to the first portion along a common imaginary edge.

Abstract: Packing paper receiving and folding method and apparatus are disclosed. The method has the steps of receiving and supporting a packing paper through an opening portion defined between suction arms of a suction ring; moving an arbor into the suction ring accompanying packing paper folded in a U-shape through the opening portion; effecting body folding of the packing paper using the arbor as a core member; and effecting flaps folding within the suction ring while properly maintaining the state of the body folding. The apparatus has a rotatable suction ring including a bracket, a pair of suction arms pivotable with respect to the bracket, the other ends of the suction arms defining an opening portion therebetween so that an arbor can enter therethrough, folding claws mounted on the insides of the suction arms and a bottom clamp positioned in the opening portion; a U-clamp provided within the suction ring for body folding; and a seaming clamp approaching to and departing from the arbor.

Abstract: A packing paper receiving and folding apparatus is disclosed. It has a rotatable suction ring including a bracket, a pair of suction arms axially supported at their one ends in a pivotable manner with respect to the bracket, the other ends of the suction arms defining an opening portion between them so that an arbor can enter from there, folding claws mounted on the inside of at least one of the suction arms, and a bottom clamp positioned in the opening portion to complete the suction ring having substantially an annular outer periphery; a U-clamp provided within the suction ring for body folding, a main presser for pressing an inner bag provided within the suction ring in such a manner as to be openable; and a seaming clamp approaching to and departing from the arbor.

Abstract: An arbor guiding apparatus is disclosed. It has a plurality of arbors arranged at least in two rows of arbors and in tandem on a rotary packing drum with respect to its axial direction. It also has a guiding device of the arbors in the radial direction. The guiding device includes supporting members axially supporting the arbors as well as connecting rods. One of the connecting rods include a threeway shaft at its one end, one way of the shaft being for engagement with a cam follower for guiding the arbor in the first arbor row while another way of the shaft being for engagement with a cam follower for guiding the arbor in the second arbor row. It further includes a device for effecting a relative movement of the arbors in the first and second arbor rows. The relative movement device essentially includes a pinion interposed therebetween.

Abstract: An improved packing container forming apparatus is disclosed. In the arbor turret type packing container forming apparatus, the improvement comprising a plurality of arbors arranged in tandem on a rotary packing drum in the axial direction, an aluminum foil suction ring for forming an aluminum bag with its one end closed in combination with the corresponding arbor by winding a sheet of aluminum foil around the arbor in the first rotary row, a package paper suction ring for forming a package paper bag with its one end closed in combination with the corresponding arbor by winding a sheet of package paper around the arbor in the second rotary row, and a shifting mechanism including a pair of racks and a pinion for shifting the arbors in the first rotary row to the second rotary row in a consecutive manner.